KEY POINTS:
The man who posed as a truancy officer before he attacked a west Auckland schoolgirl, took her backpack in what police say may be a vital clue in their hunt for him.
The 15-year-old was sexually abused after the man picked her up in his car in Hobsonville Rd, west Auckland, after convincing her he was a truancy officer.
He drove her to her home and sexually abused her, leaving with her navy blue backpack, said Detective Sergeant Steve Salton.
He said the backpack could be a vital clue in the police hunt for the man and appealed for the public's help to find it and the man.
"We are treating it very seriously. There is nothing much more serious than this. A homicide is more serious but in this situation the victim is still alive."
He said the man's demeanour changed dramatically when he got to her home and he turned on her and attacked her.
It could easily have become a homicide, said Mr Salton.
He said the victim was traumatised.
"She is coping well but only because she has outstanding family support and that is what is getting her through."
He said the physical injuries were not bad but the attack was enough to "scare the living daylights out of her" and her psychological scarring was deep.
The man was described as a fat or stocky Polynesian, about 40-years-old, 165cm tall with short dark hair, partly greying around the front and the sides.
Mr Salton said one witness saw the man from behind and said he looked like a prop forward with no neck. He was wearing a light-blue, long-sleeved dress shirt.
He may also have scratches on his neck where his victim fought back, punching him and trying to scratch him.
He was driving a white station wagon, possibly from the 1990s.
Anyone with information could ring the Henderson police Operation Truant on 839 0600.
- NZPA
