“It was a strange older man, he asked her ‘hi, how are you?’ My daughter looked down and saw he had his willy out.”
At that moment, her daughter was unable to comprehend what was happening was real, she said.
“The man drove past in the same direction where she was headed. He had pulled over on Whitney St, the spot she normally crosses.
“So, she crossed the road and hid behind the tree ... and waited for him to leave.
“She has a phone but in that situation, her focus was on safety.”
The man then looked out the window for the school girl, who was not in sight and drove away, the mother said.
“My daughter ran home.”
A police spokesperson confirmed they received a report on February 24 of a suspicious approach by a man to a child on Dundale Ave where the man reportedly exposed himself.
“He did not touch the child,” the spokesperson said.
“Police have spoken to the child and their parents and made inquiries, including exploring CCTV footage, however unfortunately there are no further lines of inquiry.
“Police welcome any further reports of similar approaches in the area and will continue to ensure the community feels safe.”
The mother described the man as white, aged between 50-60 years, with white hair.
“He was wearing a yellow hi-vis jacket with a blue patch, white shirt and blue pants,” she said. “The vehicle is a mid grey colour SUV, very clean, and the seats are dark grey. The back of the vehicle has an aerial thing with a ball on it. The rear lights have a red line which stretches across the back. The car has raised roof racks.”
The mother said she wants the community to be extra vigilant with their children and keep reiterating the stranger danger strategies.
“My daughter’s school has been supportive and the principal sent out a communication to let other parents know. We wanted to grow our daughter into walking or biking to school because she would start intermediate soon.
“But now that’s stopped, we do pick ups and drop offs. She is terrified, she sleeps with us, lights on.”
