NEWPORT, N.C. — A sex offender working at a North Carolina convenience store is accused of locking children inside the shop and robbing them.

Newport police Chief Keith Lewis tells reporters that two children entered the shop near closing Sunday to buy candy and were trapped by 60-year-old Hector Sanchez, a registered sex offender from California. Lewis says Sanchez said he locked up because he was closing, but he then refused to let the kids leave.

He says the kids tried to buy candy with $20 that Sanchez pocketed. He says one of them called their mom, who alerted police.

The chief says Sanchez eventually released the children and was arrested on charges including kidnapping and failing to register as a sex offender in North Carolina. He says Sanchez admitted to the crimes.