MANCHESTER, NH (MyFoxBoston.com) -- A registered sex offender is under investigation amidst allegations he approached a six year old girl in a New Hampshire book store.
The girl's father, who FOX25 is not naming to protect her identity, said he was speaking out about the incident because he felt all parents should be aware.
"I was glad I made the call," the father said. "Parents should listen to their gut. If you feel that there's a danger around your kids, then call the police."
The father said he and his daughter were in the childrens' books section at Barnes & Noble on Willow Street last month when a man approached his daughter.
The man, who police later identified as James Sorensen, allegedly engaged the girl in conversation and told her she was pretty, according to the girl's father.
"He checked her up and down with his eyes, there's no other way to explain it," the father told FOX25. "At one point he asked me, he said, 'Oh, you're here with the pretty girl?' I said 'Yes, I am."
The father called police and took a picture of Sorensen inside the store.
Sorensen is a registered sex offender in New Hampshire, and was convicted of sexual assault on a child under 13, according to state criminal records.
FOX25 obtained the police report from the incident, where responding officers reported asking Sorensen "about checking out the young girl...he admitted that he had."
Sorensen also called her a "pretty little girl," according to the police report, but told the officer he "would never do anything, he didn't want to go back to jail."
Sorensen was not arrested nor charged with any camera, though police said they warned him about his behavior.
FOX25 went to Sorensen's Nashua home, where he declined an on-camera interview but strongly denied the allegations.
Sorensen told FOX25 he never approached the girl, and that he was just making conversation with her father.
Sorensen denied calling the six year old "pretty" and said her father's attitude toward him was "uncalled for."
Sorensen also said the news of what happened caused him to lose his job.
The father of the girl told FOX25 that he only wanted to share the story as a reminder to parents to be advocates for their children's safety.
"It's pretty scary," the father said. "I was glad I made the call."
Cox Media Group
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