A seven-year-old girl spent more than an hour with the man accused of abducting and sexually assaulting her in bushland north of Brisbane.
A 26-year-old man has been charged with luring the girl away from a Kmart store at a North Lakes shopping centre on Saturday.
Detectives say the man approached the girl, spoke to her, and then left with the child.
It's believed she was taken to nearby bushland where she was sexually assaulted, before the man took her back to the shopping centre more than hour later.
Detectives arrested a man on Monday night and charged him with deprivation of liberty, taking a child for immoral purposes and indecent treatment of a child under 12.
The charges were mentioned in the Pine Rivers Magistrate Court on Tuesday morning, but the court was closed to the media. The case was adjourned until Wednesday morning.
Detectives from the Child Protection Investigation Unit and the State Crime Command's Child Abuse and Sexual Crime Group are involved in the investigation.
Detective Superintendent Fleming said he was proud police had caught the alleged attacker quickly.
"My thanks also extend to Westfield North Lakes staff for their co-operation and support to police in this investigation," he said.
"Crimes in circumstances such as this are not common, but it is a timely reminder that a very small number of people could take advantage of an opportunity to harm a child."
Kmart said the store was aware of the incident but could not comment further due to the ongoing police investigation.
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