Detectives have assured a NSW community it can rest easy after police arrested a man allegedly involved in the abduction and sexual assault of a schoolgirl near Newcastle.
Police had been searching for the man since the alleged attack on Tuesday morning in Adamstown Heights.
The 11-year-old girl was allegedly grabbed from behind as she walked to school, threatened with a knife, sexually assaulted and forced into a car.
She was then driven to bushland where she was again sexually assaulted before being released at Kotara Railway station about five hours later, NSW Police said.
The schoolgirl walked 1.5 kilometres on her own before raising the alarm at home and was taken to John Hunter Hospital for examination.
Detective Superintendent Brett Greentree said the man was facing "very, very serious" allegations.
"This incident was certainly something that sent shivers down the spines of everybody in the Hunter and indeed the state," Det Supt Greentree told reporters in Newcastle on Saturday.
The 47-year-old man is in custody at Newcastle Police Station and is expected to be charged on Saturday.
Detective Superintendent John Kerlatec says the community should be "very proud" of the help they provided which made the arrest possible.
He said it was a challenging investigation, especially for the parents and "brave, young" girl involved.
"The community can rest easy tonight, the person responsible for this crime is now in custody," Det Supt Kerlatec said on Saturday.
A special strike force of detectives was set up to find the alleged attacker who was arrested following a vehicle stop in the nearby suburb of Hamilton on Saturday.
The man is due to appear in Newcastle Local Court on Sunday, police said.
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