Police: Suspect Sexually Assaults Girl, 7, At White Plains Walmart
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- Police in White Plains are looking for a man who they said sexually attacked a 7-year-old girl in the toy section of Walmart.
The incident happened just before 7 p.m. Saturday at the store on Main Street.
Police said the suspect approached the child and inappropriately touched her after she wandered away from her mother.
"I think what he did was a predatory act," White Plains Public Safety Commissioner David Chong told CBS 2's Tony Aiello. "We believe that he singled the mother and the child out as soon as they entered the store."
Chong said the suspect made his move as soon as he saw the 7-year-old girl wander away from her mother and into the toy department.
"At the precise moment where there was separation between the daughter and the mother, this guy pounced on the daughter," said Chong.
Police said he pulled the child into a back room and spent several minutes engaging in inappropriate sexual conduct.
White Plains Police said the little girl was physically uninjured. But mentally, they said she's pretty traumatized.
Local parents were upset to learn about the assault on a little girl.
"Oh my God, that's scary. I always go with my kids shopping, you don't know what's gonna happen. People are crazy," Port Chester resident Flor Serrano told Aiello.
"Gotta keep a good grip on your kids, not let them get away from you. But it does happen," Karim Thornhill of Yonkers said.
"It is a stark reminder to parents that wherever you are, you really have to pay close attention to where your children are," Chong told Aiello.
The man was seen on surveillance video inside the store, police said.
The suspect is described as a black male in his mid 20s, police said. He was last seen wearing a dark-colored Louis Vuitton baseball hat with the letters "LV" on the front, dark-colored jeans and bright green high-top sneakers, police said.
"The detectives are following up on some leads, but until we have him in custody I'm not comfortable," Chong told Aiello.
Police said Walmart has cooperated fully with the investigation.
Police are asking anyone with information on the suspect or the incident to call 914-422-6200 or 914-422-6006. All calls will be kept confidential.
