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Parents Worried After Man Grabs Child At Flushing, Queens Playground

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A disturbing trend at a park in Flushing, Queens has parents seriously worried for their children's safety.

As CBS2's Jessica Layton reported, Bowne Playground is the kind of place where people feel safe even after the sun has gone down -- where people came earlier in the evening to cool down.

But parents were sweating after what they just found out.

"I worry about this," said Hai Chen, the father of a young boy who was visiting the playground on Tuesday. "It's scary."

Police got a report last month that a suspect went up to an 8-year-old boy at the playground, picked him up, grabbed him by the chest, and squeezed him. The boy's mother was there, and she was able to snap cellphone pictures.

"As a parent, very scary," a mother said.

In a case at the playground last week, a girl was fondled and robbed. Police arrested that accused playground pervert.

"Any neighborhood's not safe anymore," a woman said. She added that the incidents make her think twice about coming to the playground, because, "I'm alone; I do come alone."

The parents who spoke to CBS2 said they will be back with their kids, but Chen said it does not change the fact that he is deeply disturbed.

Police said the suspect they are still looking for is Chinese, speaks fluent Mandarin, and had a toddler-age girl with him.

City Councilmember Peter Koo (D-20th) said his office has spoken with police about stepping up patrols around Bowne Playground and others in this area. Officers were seen circling the block late Tuesday.

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