Bathroom Attack in Philadelphia Lib.

On February 7, an eight-year-old girl went to the ladies room in the Independence Branch of the Free Library of Philadelphia. A 23-year-old man followed her, beat her, and tried to rape her, leaving her unconscious. Brian McCutcheon later turned himself in to police.

As details emerged, alarm increased. McCutcheon, who is homeless, was involved in a similar case, charged with assault of a nine-year-old girl, in 2001. Because the victim couldn't identify her attacker, McCutcheon pled guilty to a misdemeanor and was sentenced to 23 months in jail.

He also has a troubled history at the Free Library. He was banned from the central location for viewing pornography on library computers and also exposed himself to a 16-year-old library assistant, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. Still, he was not restricted from branch libraries and had been seen looking at pornography there—even in front of a television news crew.

In this latest attack, the girl was hospitalized in critical but stable condition, and library and community officials set up a fund for her education. Philadelphia mayor John Street has promised to do "every reasonable thing, and maybe a couple of unreasonable things, to protect the security of its young people." City and library officials began to establish a task force to study safety issues at the library. Advocates for the homeless feared a backlash.

There was a security guard on duty at the branch at the time of the attack, and patrons were required to go to the desk to get a key to the bathroom. Two days later, the security guard was keeping the key in his pocket and letting people into the bathroom personally.