Elderly Man Allegedly Molests 3-Year-Old After Luring Her With Chocolates

KEY POINTS

A 60-year-old man in India allegedly took a 3-year-old girl away from her home on the pretext of buying her chocolates
The girl was later found by her father lying on the ground without any clothes, police said
The accused was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of child molestation

Police arrested Wednesday a 60-year-old man in India's Uttar Pradesh state who was accused of molesting a 3-year-old girl after luring her with sweets.

The child was playing with her sister outside their home in Ghaziabad's Indirapuram residential locality at around 4:30 p.m. Tuesday when the elderly man — identified as Mata Pher — allegedly took her away on the pretext of buying her chocolate, the Times of India reported, citing a police complaint.

"Around 5:30 p.m., when I was returned home from work, I asked my wife about our daughter and she told me that both the sisters were playing outside the house along with other children. However, I only found my elder daughter outside," the father of the alleged victim recounted in the police complaint.

"She told me that one uncle from (the) neighborhood took her sister to a shop to buy her a chocolate," he said.

The father became worried and started searching for the girl with the help of some neighbors. After searching for some time, the party found the girl lying on the ground in the green belt area near the elevated road in Indirapuram without any clothes.

"After questioning our daughters and other children, we identified the accused and went to his house around 1:00 a.m., which was found locked," the complaint read.

The victim's family approached local police and filed a complaint against the alleged molester, who was then booked under Section 354 (molestation) of the Indian Penal Code and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act of 2012.

Pher was scheduled to appear in court last Thursday.

A similar incident occurred last week in a Brooklyn, New York neighborhood when a man was caught on camera allegedly attempting to lure two young boys into his car with candy.

Police are on the lookout for a man who allegedly asked the two boys, aged 5 and 7, if they wanted candy and motioned for them to get inside his red vehicle at Shore Boulevard and Norfolk Street in Manhattan Beach on May 29.

The driver took off when the children's father came over, and the boys were not harmed in the encounter, WCBS-TV reported.