PLAISTOW - Police are searching for a man who allegedly sexually assaulted a 9-year-old girl in a toy aisle at the Plaistow Walmart Sunday night and fled the store.

Police were called to the store at 58 Plaistow Road (Route 125) just before 8 p.m. to investigate and learned that the victim was allegedly assaulted after a parent briefly lost sight of her, Deputy Police Chief Kathleen Jones said.

According to police, a male stranger approached the girl in an aisle in the toy department and touched her inappropriately in the genital area before fleeing the store.

The girl immediately reported the incident to an assistant store manager, said Jones, who called the assault an isolated incident.

"The suspect was either out looking to commit a crime like this or he was in the store and the opportunity presented itself when he saw the child in the toy aisle," Jones said.

While the girl wasn't physically hurt, the victim received medical treatment as a precaution.

Police described the suspect as a white male with glasses and short blond hair who was wearing a black shirt and black pants with a gray-colored hooded, front-zip sweatshirt.

Jones said police are following leads, but are asking for the public's help in identifying the suspect through surveillance camera photographs allegedly showing him and his vehicle.

Police said the vehicle appears to be a grey or beige Chevrolet pickup truck with a long bed and a Massachusetts license plate.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Plaistow Police Department at 382-1200.

jschreiber@newstote.com