A man was convicted and sentenced to at least 15 years behind bars after being found guilty of kidnapping and raping an 11-year-old girl he picked up off the street in North Philly in Feb. 2025, the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office announced on Monday. According to prosecutors, 47-year- old Horace Battle, who was already a registered sex offender after getting convicted in 2013 for the rape of a child, pulled up along two 11-year-old sisters in North Philly and offered them a ride. The sisters initially declined, but Battle insisted, prosecutors said. They then got into Battle’s white Chevy Equinox and he drove them to his home on 1635 W. Lehigh Avenue. Battle asked if they wanted to use the restroom, one sister declined and stayed in the car while the other one went inside the home, prosecutors said. After about 15 minutes, the girl who stayed inside the car got scared, ran down the street and shouted for help, causing a neighbor to call 911, prosecutors said. Philadelphia police located Battle’s car and were able to identify it with him, leading to a search of his home, where they found Battle in only his underwear along with the girl, prosecutors said. The girl was taken to the hospital and began to tell officials what happened. In all, she was in Battle’s home for nine hours, prosecutors said. Battle was convicted of rape of a child, kidnapping and unlawful contact of a minor, prosecutors said. Along with the convictions, Battle was also given 3 to 10 years in prison for violating his probation. His total sentence is 15 to 34 years in prison, along with three years of probation, prosecutors said. ...read more read less