A file is to be sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions following the alleged rape of a 10-year-old girl in north Cork last Thursday.
The schoolgirl was playing with friends at her home near Fermoy, Co Cork, on Thursday afternoon when she was lured away from them by a youth.
The alleged rape came to light after the young girl complained to her parents of pain and discomfort. They brought her to Mallow General Hospital where she was examined. Gardai then interviewed a teenager in the area and are now following a definite line of inquiry.
According to Garda sources, the incident was not connected to a similar attack on an eight-year-old girl two years ago in the Gardiner's Hill area of Cork. On that occasion, the child was dragged into a laneway and brutally assaulted.
"Any attack on a child is an outrage and a very sad event," a garda in the investigating team said.
After the latest attack, gardai sealed off the area to allow a full forensic examination and began house-to-house inquiries. They have appealed for anyone who was in the area or who saw anything suspicious between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. on Thursday to contact them at 025-31222.