Gardai in Cork are investigating an arson attack on a city premises which they believe may be related to the rape of an eight-year-old girl in the city at the weekend.
"We believe it was arson and we're investigating the theory that it may be related to the rape of the little girl," said a Garda source, adding that the premises was badly damaged by the blaze, which was reported at 1.30 a.m. on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, gardai are delaying the release of an identikit image of the man they are looking for in connection with the rape of the girl in the Dillon's Cross area until they build up a more accurate picture of the suspect.
Supt P.J. Brennan stressed that it was extremely important that gardai had an accurate identikit picture to release, as anything else could easily lead to confusion and prove counterproductive in their investigation.
"Often you're working with 50 per cent to 60 per cent to 70 per cent likeness in identikit pictures and we're trying to build up the accuracy all the time. Naturally given the trauma the little girl has been through, we have to be very patient," he said.
Supt Brennan repeated his appeal to anyone who may have seen anything unusual in the Dillon's Cross area between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Saturday to contact the gardai at McCurtain Street in Cork on (021) 503337.
"We believe this man may have been lurking in the area for some time before he committed this depraved crime. We would ask anyone who saw anything suspicious - no matter how seemingly insignificant - to contact us."