Police are investigating an indecent act after a man exposed himself to a five-year-old girl at a southwest Edmonton park last weekend.
On Saturday evening, a man was riding his bike and approached the girl, who was playing in Michener Park near Bowlen Road and Page Avenue, police said in a media release Wednesday. It happened sometime between 7 p.m. and 9 p.m.
The man convinced the girl to follow him to an isolated area of the park near a tennis court, where he “exposed his genitals and attempted to contact the girl for a sexual purpose,” police said.
The Edmonton Police Service Risk Response Team became involved in the investigation on Sunday after being contacted by a member of the girl’s family.
“This is quite concerning just because this suspect is unknown to us at this time,. It was a stranger to the child and we want to ensure that this doesn’t happen again,” Acting Staff Sgt. Kurtis Hauptman with the EPS said.
“We’re just asking parents to be vigilant and to ensure that they would be reminded that appropriate supervision is involved when any of their children are playing outside, no matter if it’s in their backyard or a little farther than that.”
Child protection detectives continue to investigate the indecent act and sexual interference incident.
Police said the man is described as tanned, approximately five-foot-seven with brown eyes and short, spiky grey/black hair. He also had grey/black hair on his chin. He was wearing shorts and a grey T-shirt at the time and was carrying a yellow and grey backpack.
Anyone with information about the incident is urged to contact the EPS at 780-423-4567 or #377 from a mobile phone. Anonymous information can be submitted to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or online.