Edmonton police are looking for help in identifying a suspect they allege abducted and sexually assaulted an eight-year-old girl in the McQueen neighbourhood on Tuesday.
“Our hearts do go out to the child and her family at this time, and we’re working really hard to do what we can to solve this crime for her,” Det. Amanda Ross said at a news conference Wednesday evening.
The assault happened in west Edmonton in the area of 144 Street and 110 Avenue at around 5:30 p.m. Police said the girl was walking home at the time.
According to police, the girl was approached by a man in his 20s to mid-30s with brown hair and facial hair who was driving a white four-door mid-sized car or SUV. He was wearing faded light brown pants at the time.
The man allegedly pulled the girl into the vehicle, sexually assaulted her and then dropped her off nearby, police said.
The girl reported the incident to her parents, who were looking for her at the time. EMS took the victim to hospital, where she was treated and released.
“The child was doing some after-school activities,” Ross said. “She was somewhere where her parents knew where she was and she was expected to be home. So her parents had gone out and were looking for her at the time.”
Ross said the child has been offered mental health support. She noted that detectives do not believe the suspect and the child knew each other.
Anyone with information on the incident or driver, or who saw anything suspicious between 3:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. on March 10, should contact the Edmonton Police Service at 780-432-4567 or dial #377 from a cellphone. Tips can also be submitted anonymously to Crime Stoppers online.
Ross said she hopes parents speak to their children about being safe in their communities and that Edmontonians will come forward with information so police can “bring the person that did this to justice.”
The victim attended Edmonton Christian West school in the McQueen neighbourhood.
The school sent a letter to parents in light of the incident.
“As a precaution, we will be increasing supervision before school, during recess and lunch and after school for the foreseeable future,” the letter reads.
The letter also urged families to look out for one another.
Edmonton Public Schools issued a statement about the matter.
“Schools in the surrounding neighbourhood will be taking proactive measures to increase supervision and remind children about stranger danger precautions,” it said.
“Any time a serious incident like this occurs, it can have a lasting impact on the community,” Ross said.
–With files from Global News’ Phil Heidenreich and Sarah Ryan
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