A man is wanted by Philadelphia police after he allegedly exposed himself and performed a lewd act outside a daycare center in the Oxford Circle section of Northeast Philadelphia. The incident happened around 5:45 p.m. Monday on the 6400 block of Castor Avenue, a stretch of the neighborhood's main commercial corridor lined with small businesses and child care centers.
According to NBC10 Philadelphia, police describe the suspect as roughly 35 years old, about 5-foot-8, with an uneven, receding hairline. He was reportedly wearing a white and grey camouflage quarter-zip hoodie, black sweatpants with white stripes down the sides, and white sneakers at the time of the incident. The Philadelphia Police Department's Special Victims Unit is now investigating.
The Special Victims Unit handles exactly this kind of case out of a shared facility built for it. The unit works co-located with the Philadelphia Children's Alliance and the Philadelphia Sexual Assault Response Center at the Philadelphia Safety Collaborative on East Hunting Park Avenue, according to the City of Philadelphia Department of Human Services. That arrangement is meant to ensure child victims only have to tell their story once to a multidisciplinary team rather than repeating it across separate agencies.
What Pennsylvania Law Says About the Alleged Conduct
Under Pennsylvania's indecent exposure statute, 18 Pa.C.S. § 3127, a person commits a crime by exposing genitalia in public where it is likely to offend or alarm others, and state guidelines call for sentence enhancements when minors under 16 are present, per state legislative guidance. A separate open lewdness statute, 18 Pa.C.S. § 5901, makes it a third-degree misdemeanor punishable by up to 90 days in jail to perform a lewd act in public where it is likely to be observed by affronted bystanders, according to legal reference materials tracking the statute.
Daycare staff in Pennsylvania are also bound by specific reporting duties. Under the state's Child Protective Services Law, child care employees are mandatory reporters required to immediately notify authorities if they suspect or witness abuse or public sexual misconduct near facility grounds, per a StatPearls legal overview. Failing to do so can carry administrative or criminal penalties. It remains unknown whether children inside or outside the facility witnessed Monday's incident, or whether nearby security cameras along the commercial strip captured additional footage of the suspect's approach or escape route.
A Corridor Under Watch, and Under Repair
The 6400 block of Castor Avenue falls under the jurisdiction of the Philadelphia Police Department's 2nd Police District, headquartered less than a mile away at 7306 Castor Avenue, according to the Philadelphia Police Department. That same station house made headlines in April when Hoodline reported a driver crashed an SUV into the precinct during a domestic dispute, temporarily shutting down the building.
Castor Avenue has also been the focus of recent investment aimed at pedestrian safety. In February 2025, state Sen. Christine Tartaglione announced $250,000 in multimodal funding for safety and streetscape improvements along a 1.7-mile stretch of the avenue between Oxford Circle and Cottman Avenue, according to the Office of State Senator Christine Tartaglione. State planning documents from the Pennsylvania Department of Community & Economic Development describe the corridor as a key neighborhood commercial hub anchored by child care centers, small businesses, and multicultural grocery stores, reflecting the density of families who rely on the strip daily.
Part of a Wider Pattern of Reports
Monday's incident is not the first exposure case reported near a Philadelphia-area daycare this year. Hoodline previously covered a Marietta man arrested near a daycare lot in June on similar allegations. It is not known whether investigators have linked the two cases or whether Special Victims Unit detectives are examining any connection to other unresolved exposure incidents in the 2nd Police District.
Citywide, reported rape and sexual assault cases increased through early 2026 even as overall violent crime and homicides continued to decline, according to trend data from the Philadelphia Bar Reporter. That shift has prompted multi-agency Sexual Assault Response Teams to expand outreach and lean more heavily on tips from residents who may recognize suspects caught on camera.
Anyone with information about the suspect is asked to contact the Philadelphia Police Department's anonymous tip line at 215-686-TIPS (8477) by phone or text, or to reach the Special Victims Unit directly at 215-685-3251, per the City of Philadelphia. No arrest has been announced as of publication.
