Gardai have appealed for assistance following the attempted abduction of a 12-year-old girl in Cork city last Monday. The man grabbed the girl by the hair and tried to drag her down a laneway in Togher, but she escaped after kicking him.
The attack occurred as the girl, who was praised by Garda Insp John O`Brien for her courage, was on her way to a youth club near the Doughcloyne Inn in Togher at about 5.55 p.m.
The man is described as being in his mid-40s and about 5ft, 5in tall with short dark hair, a moustache, brown eyes and a tanned complexion, with a distinctive one-inch scar over his right cheekbone.
He spoke with a Dublin accent, and was wearing a peach-coloured shirt and beige/green trousers. Gardai are also investigating an incident in Barrack Street in Cork on Wednesday, when a man approached a young girl and invited her down a laneway. It's understood the girl was not injured. Gardai have ruled out any link between this week's incidents and the rape of an eight-year-old in Cork in April.