AN EIGHT-year-old girl is alleged to have been sexually assaulted while out playing in east Hull.
The girl was playing with a six-year-old girl in the Holderness Road area when a man is believed to have approached them.
The man is then alleged to have pulled down the eight-year-old's shorts.
Hearing the girls scream, a member of the public rushed to see what had happened and held the man until police arrived.
Residents living in the area have expressed their concern at what is alleged to have happened.
A young mother from the area said: "Things like this really put me off letting my children play outside.
"It really does worry me.
"I keep an eye on my kids all the time but to think that there are people out there who want to do things to children really scares me."
The alleged attack happened in an area close to a number of primary schools.
A father of two said: "I have a 13-year-old boy and a five-year-old girl and I still make sure there is someone there to pick them up from school.
"This is a tight-knit community and we all look out for one another."
Humberside Police confirmed a 50-year-old man has been arrested and charged in connection with the alleged assault on Monday evening.
A force spokesman said: "A 50-year-old man from Spalding in Lincolnshire was arrested by police in Hull on Monday following an alleged incident.
"Officers were called shortly after 5pm after a man was alleged to have approached two girls, aged six and eight, who were playing in the street, and pulled down the shorts of the older child.
"The man was detained by a member of the public and officers attended and arrested him."
Robert Lewis Parrish appeared at Hull Magistrates' Court on Wednesday.
Mr Parrish was charged with two counts of assaulting a girl under 13 by touching.
He has also been accused of exposure and assault by beating, which are alleged to have occurred on the same day.
Mr Parrish did not enter a plea to any of the charges and was remanded in custody.
He will appear at Hull Crown Court on Wednesday, September 10.
