Police have launched an appeal after an 11-year-old girl was pulled from a bus stop by a man, claiming he had a knife, and sexually assaulted.
The girl was followed from school to a bus stop at Sussex Ring, North Finchley, around 4pm on September 30.
As passengers boarded their buses westbound towards Mill Hill or Whetstone, she was left alone at the stop with a man who tried to talk to her about buses, before asking her to go to the park.
When she refused, he grabbed her wrists, and started to pull her into the park - claiming he had a knife, police said.
The man led the girl down towards the canal, and behind a tree, where he took her phone, grabbed her wrist, and kissed her before leaving the area.
He is described as 30 to 40-years-old, with pale white skin, brown eyes and messy shoulder length hair, wearing blue jeans and black trainers.
Detective Constable Chris Finnegan said: “This was a frightening attack on a young girl who has been tremendously brave in coming forward.
“I stress that sexual assaults of this nature continue to be very rare, but in the cases when it does happen we remain dedicated to supporting victims and identifying and prosecuting those responsible.
“We encourage anyone who is a victim of sexual offences, or who witnesses an offence taking place, to contact police so we can track down the perpetrator.”
Anyone who can name the male pictured or who has information is asked to call police on 101 or to tweet @MetCC quoting CAD5239/30SEP21.
