Attempted Rape, Kidnapping Charges For Cherry Hill Man: NY Officials

CHERRY HILL, NJ — A Cherry Hill man kidnapped two girls from their home in eastern New York State and sexually abused one of them at a hotel, officials said.

Officials arrested 19-year-old Yusef Illeez on Oct. 28 and held him in the Camden County Correctional Facility until he was extradited to New York, according to New York State Police.

Illeez is accused of abducting the children, aged 9 and 11, from their Schenectady home and trying to rape the 11-year-old according to court documents and media reports from WNYT-TV and WTEN-TV.

Illeez was 18 at the time of the crime, state police said, and met one of the children online. The children were returned home less than 12 hours after they were reported missing on Jan. 16, 2022, police said. Investigators say he made contact with the girl on an app called Yubo, WTEN reported.

Illeez faces two second-degree charges of kidnapping, a first-degree charge of attempted rape, a first-degree charge of attempted criminal sexual act, a second-degree charge of sexual abuse, and a charge of endangering the welfare of a child according to NY State Police.

Prosecutors say Illeez took the children to a hotel; he took the 9-year-old back home several hours later and returned to the hotel, where he sexually abused the 11-year-old and tried to rape her, WNYT reported.

Then, officials said he dropped the 11-year-old down the street from her home and returned to New Jersey, the WNYT report said.

He is being held in the Schenectady County Correctional Facility without bail pending trial, according to New York State Police and WNYT.