Incident involving child in a Wawa restroom has police seeking information

MAURICE RIVER TWP. – An elderly man faces charges after he allegedly sought to entice a boy to leave a Wawa with him.

An investigation is continuing after the arrest of Thomas Cannon, 79, of Camp Hill, Pennsylvania, according to the Cumberland County Prosecutor’s Office.

Cannon was arrested after a probe into a May 28 incident at a Wawa on Route 47 in Maurice River Township, the prosecutor’s office said in a statement.

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According to New Jersey State Police, a man approached a 7-year-old boy in the store's restroom around 12:20 p.m. and offered the child candy to leave with him.

Suspect allegedly grabbed boy in Wawa

"The boy declined his invitation, at which point the man grabbed the boy’s arm and attempted to physically remove him from the store," said a State Police account.

"The boy immediately resisted, broke free from the man’s grasp, and ran to his mother who was using the female restroom," it said.

The suspect left the store before being seen by the child's family.

Police seek information from the public

A video at the State Police Facebook page showed the suspect - a balding man of average build, with grey hair and blue eyes - as he entered and left the store.

Cannon was charged on June 1 with endangering the welfare of a child.

The charge is only an allegation. Cannon has not been convicted in the case.

He was initially held in Cumberland County Jail, then was released on court order.

Anyone with information for investigators is asked to call the State Police station in Port Norris at 856-785-0036

Jim Walsh is a senior reporter with the Courier-Post, Burlington County Times and The Daily Journal. Email him at jwalsh@cpsj.com.

This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: Criminal charge for man who allegedly grabbed boy in a Wawa restroom