Police warning as man “in his 70s” approaches seven-year-old girl at Maufant

Friday 27 June 2014

Detectives are investigating reports that a man approached a seven-year-old girl who had become separated from her friends while playing in the Maufant area this week.

The girl was approached by an elderly man while she was walking home, and he took her by the hand.

Police say that there could be an innocent explanation, but they want to speak to the man or anyone else who saw the incident at the junction between Rue de la Bachauderie and Rue de Potirons in St Martin at around 4pm on Wednesday.

The man is described as being in his 70s, with white hair, a long face, wearing a peach polo shirt and tan trousers, he is also believed to have a silver chain, possibly holding keys, hanging from his belt.

Inspector Steve Langford, Head of CID, said: “For many people this would appear a worrying incident and we are treating this complaint seriously until we can establish the nature of the incident either way. We would remind parents to speak to your children about personal safety. It’s not about scaring young children but about keeping them safe.

“Officers have been and continue to conduct a number of enquiries to try and ascertain exactly what happened and we would appeal to anyone who saw the incident, this man or anything which could give us information to contact the CID office on 612200.

“We would also like to appeal to the man directly to come forward and give us his account of what happened, as we know there could be a simple and innocent explanation.

“And please if anyone has any concerns ring us on 612200, or anonymously via Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.”

Plain clothes detectives and uniformed officers were in the area last night but were not able to identify the man.