A seven-year-old girl abducted from a playground in Seixal, near Lisbon, on Saturday evening was discovered hours later, over a km away “disoriented and upset”. Tests in hospital have confirmed that she was raped.
Thanks to the child’s own description of her abductor and the description given by a slightly older cousin,the alleged pedophile has been identified.
It is unclear whether he has been found, but this looks likely to happen imminently.
The man, described by tabloid Correio da Manhã as local to the area and an habitual alcoholic, is believed to have attempted the abduction of a child two weeks ago.
For now, inquiries are ongoing.
The child victim was ‘unsupervised’ in the park, in the company of slightly older cousins.
Her mother had reportedly been with the group for a short while but left “due to a problem” with one of her other children, a baby.
As police have stressed since, there should never be any occasion when adults leave minors in a public place without supervision.
Portugal’s ‘pedophile list’ already involves 5,252 names, reports CM.
natasha.donn@algarveresident.com
