‘Pedophile said he only abducted and molested girl to rescue her from parents’ filthy house’

A suspected pedophile claimed he only abducted and molested a four year-old girl to rescue her from her parents’ filthy home, police say.

Thomas Andrew Dewald, 20, reportedly snatched the youngster from her family’s home in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, late last Wednesday or early Thursday, sparking a huge police search.

After the child was found the next day, Dewald told police he had abducted the girl, claiming he was disgusted by the ‘deplorable conditions’ the child was expected to live in.

He said he’d taken the child home and that they’d lain in bed together, fully clothed, according to the Chambersburg Public Opinion.

Dewald added that at some point his erect penis may have touched the girl through her clothes, and that he may have masturbated near her, court papers say.

The alleged pervert told police that he’d bound the girl with tape and placed her in a wooden chest afterwards, claiming he’d be back later that day.

He said the youngster had vanished by the time he’d gotten home, and that he had no idea how she escaped.

Dewald is also said to have admitted an attempted burglary three days before the abduction.

He crept into a neighboring house, and saw three children sleeping in their beds, but decided to leave them alone because of the ‘acceptable conditions’ in their home, it is claimed.

The youngster’s disappearance was first reported by her concerned parents on the morning she vanished.

After being found by the side of a road two miles from her home, she offered a description of a red brick house said to match the home Dewald shared with his grandmother.

A subsequent search of that property found long blonde hairs similar in length to the victim’s hair.

Dewald faces a host of charges, including felony kidnapping, burglary and false imprisonment.

He is being held in lieu of bond ahead of a court appearance on May 14.