Gardaì continued door-to-door inquiries in Waterford last night after an indecent assault on a five-year-old boy. The incident happened at 5 p.m. on Tuesday as the child was playing on a green area at Birchwood, Killure.
A man wearing a red Manchester United jersey and grey trousers allegedly approached the boy, who was alone at the time, and indecently assaulted him in an open space surrounded by houses.
The child ran from the scene and reported the incident to his parents. He subsequently underwent a detailed examination at Waterford Regional Hospital but is not understood to have sustained physical injuries during the incident, although it has left him traumatised.
The boy could only offer a vague description to gardaí, suggesting that his alleged assailant was in his forties with fair but greying hair and of medium build.
As the investigation continued, residents of the estate expressed anger and shock.
Ms Charmaine Noonan said that, while children would normally play outside until late during the summer months, the attack had changed that.
"It's never been so quiet. I can normally hear the kids playing if I am sitting in the back garden, but now there's silence. Hopefully, they will catch whoever did this. Anyone who would do such a thing to a child is sick and it's disgraceful; a baby, that's all the poor boy is. My stomach turned when I heard what happened.
"I have a son around the same age as the boy who was attacked and I am petrified to leave him out of my sight. I have had to explain to him that he is not allowed outside because there was a bold man trying to take a child," she said.
The gardaí appealed to any witnesses to the "alleged incident, or anyone with any information, to contact us as a matter of urgency".