‘Abduction’ dad demands answers

To the 3-year-old girl eating cereal in pink pyjamas, the ‘‘bad man’’ has gone.

But her father, who wrestled his daughter off the wannabe abductor who was yelling ‘‘666’’, wants answers. Most of all, he wants the respite home for the mentally unwell gone from his suburban Whitby street.

A 32-year-old man appeared in the Porirua District Court yesterday charged with attempted abduction and two counts of common assault. He was remanded until March 21 and granted interim name suppression.

The girl’s father, who did not want to be identified, said he was walking his daughter home when a shuffling and swearing man turned around to follow them.

He was ‘‘right behind’’ them and ‘‘breathing heavy’’ as they walked up a path to Exploration Way.

The respite home, where the man was being admitted to, was on the corner of the path and road, and it was here the father hoped the man would leave them. Instead, he allegedly grabbed the little girl.

What followed was a dramatic scuffle that saw neighbour Jo Alderdice run over to grab the young girl and take her inside before the man allegedly tried to break her door down. Another neighbour rushed to help and in the scuffle a fence on Alderdice’s property was smashed over.

Yesterday, the girl’s father said the man then suddenly went limp.

‘‘I was holding him and he just flopped over.’’

Staff from the nearby respite home came out.

‘‘They didn’t try to help us, they tried to defend him ... They got very defensive - there was no remorse from them.’’

Police arrived to take the man away.

Capital & Coast District Health Board confirmed it was investigating the incident.

Pathways is the community mental health organisation that runs the home and its chief executive Sally Pitts-Brown issued a statement saying: ‘‘This was a traumatic experience for all of the people involved and our thoughts are with everyone who was affected, especially the child and her family.’’

It was conducting its own investigation.

Staff there had initially focused on stabilising the man to prevent further harm.

‘‘Once our staff realised that the father and child involved were physically safe and had support from others within the community, they placed their focus on calming down the person they were supporting and ensuring he received the care he needed.’’

Pathways had been in the community for a decade.

‘‘Over this time we have supported hundreds of people and this is the first time that a serious incident of this nature has happened,’’ Pitts-Brown said.

Communities always had children in them and Pathways’ focus was on ‘‘engaging’’ with locals to make sure it had a positive impact in communities.

The man who was arrested had only just been passed from the health board’s care to Pathways’, she said.

Back at home yesterday, the girl was still talking about ‘‘the bad man who tried to take me’’ but seemingly fine as she got ready to go back to kindergarten.

Her parents, as well as others spoken to in the neighbourhood, understood homes such as the one in their area were needed.

But the little girl’s father believed it should never have been put beside a secluded path that leads to a school and kindergarten.

‘‘Frankly, we don’t want the home there any more,’’ he said.

He wanted to know what checks were done on the man before he was allowed into the house, which he said seemingly had little, if any, security.

"[The Pathways respite home staff] didn't try to help us, they tried to defend him ... They got very defensive there was no remorse from them." Father of attacked 3-year-old