By Patrick Hedlund
DNAinfo News Editor
CHINATOWN — The brazen sexual assaults of two young girls in Chinatown have provided a painful reminder that parents need to be more aware of their children’s whereabouts, according to a group of local advocates still reeling from the attacks.
On the afternoon of July 29, an unidentified man followed the girl into the lobby of a building on Forsyth Street and fondled her over her clothes before fleeing the scene, police said.
The incident follows the May 6 attack by another unknown assailant who sexually assaulted a 9-year-old girl in the Seward Park Library after she stepped away from her mother for a brief moment.
Police are investigating a link between the two incidents, but detectives believe the attacks are likely unrelated, NYPD sources said.
For advocates in Chinatown — long been considered one of the city’s safest areas, where neighbors look after each other — the two incidents show how any young child could become the target of sexual predators.
“Turning our backs on our children for just a moment, even in a public and open space, is not the chance to take,” said Julie Huang, a local parent who helped organize a community forum in June to address the initial incident.
She said she has seen young children left unattended in parks for long stretches, including an 8-year-old girl Huang recently observed alone and crying for her mother at a local playground.
“There were other single adults, not looking to help, who were circling us,” she said. “I was about to call the police when the mother showed up. Ten minutes had passed.”
Others noted that incidents like these are generally unheard of in the Chinese community, making them all the more alarming when they occur in such public places.
“[Parents] never thought of anybody ambushing their children. They think they’re secure,” said James Wong, president of the Lin Sing Association, a 110-year-old mutual-aid organization in Chinatown.
“In our culture, it’s very unusual,” he noted of the nature of the attacks. “That’s why it’s so shocking to the residents.”
Councilwoman Margaret Chin, the first Chinese-American to ever represent Chinatown, added that parents need to be more vigilant about watching their children, even in places that appear harmless.
“You don’t want to be overprotective, but we have to make sure our kids are safe.” Chin said. “They have to be more alert and mindful of what’s going on.”
