GREENSBURG, Pa. — A Greensburg man is behind bars after officials said he lured a missing child into his car while she was riding her bike near the store where he worked.
State police in Greensburg said that an 11-year-old girl told them that she was trying to ride her bicycle from Youngwood all the way to Pittsburgh to visit her sister. She told authorities that when she got tired, she made a stop at the BFS gas station at 404 S. 3rd Street. She decided to walk to the Dollar General when she was confronted by a man she didn’t know.
Keith Lilliock, 43, was reportedly working at the Youngwood Dollar General Sunday night when police say he lured the girl into his car.
“I was just blown away. I couldn’t believe, because I know Keith,” said Bruce Johnson, who lives nearby. “I shop there all the time. He always works in the evenings.”
State police said it was around 8:30 p.m. when Lilliock allegedly told the girl he would drive her wherever she wanted after he closed the store that night.
The criminal complaint says Lilliock told the victim to wait at the gas station until then.
The complaint said Lilliock gave the girl a tablet to play a song she liked.
When she came across songs by the group Sublime, Lilliock reportedly said that he “needed to delete the songs because he’s a born-again Christian.”
Lilliock allegedly told police he “used to be a bad guy” because he used to be “attracted to young girls,” but he isn’t anymore because he’s found Jesus, according to court documents.
“My younger daughter knows him. She was just devastated. We have a granddaughter, he always asks about our granddaughter,” Johnson said.
The victim told troopers that while she was in the passenger seat, Lilliock touched her left leg and rubbed her inner thigh before he put his hand on her stomach under her shirt, according to court documents. The girl told police this happened until she asked to be taken to a friend’s house.
“I would’ve never expected it from this guy, would have never thought in a million years, ever. Not this guy here. Polite, kind,” Johnson said.
The girl’s grandmother reported her missing to police. Authorities were able to find her by pinging her iPad to a location on Dell Way, where they were able to get her to safety.
Through video surveillance, troopers were able to link Lilliock to the luring, according to court documents. Police took him into custody at his second job at Online Stores. When questioned by police, Lilliock said he told the girl she could warm up in his car and that he drove the child to his house so he could get $20 for gas and laundry.
Lilliock was denied bond. He remains in the Westmoreland County Prison.
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