A man has been accused of approaching a child in public, calling the boy "sexy", touching him and telling him "come on the bus with me".
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Abhijeet Singh Dhadda, 32, was granted bail in the ACT Magistrates Court on Monday.
He is yet to enter pleas to charges of common assault and attempting to groom a child.
The Bonner man is accused of approaching a group of children, two aged 12 and one aged 13, on Sunday at the Gungahlin bus interchange.
Police documents tendered to the court allege Dhadda approached the 12-year-old boy and said words to the effect of, "I like you, you're sexy" and "come on the bus with me to my house".
He is then accused of touching the boy's shoulders, chest, legs, waist and near his tailbone.
Dhadda would touch the boy for about five seconds, step back, reapproach and touch him again while saying words to the effect of, "Come on bus 22 with me", police documents state.
The boy reportedly tried to push Dhadda away and told him to stop but police claim the defendant continued to touch and approach the child.
Police state two women also waiting for the bus tried to stop Dhadda but he pushed one of them away.
The children then caught the bus and and reported the incident at Gungahlin Police Station.
Officers later arrested Dhadda, who "smelt strongly of intoxicating liquor and police had to assist him to stand up", court documents state.
Video recordings captured by one of the children show Dhadda with "the fly of his pants unzipped and his underwear visible", police claim.
Legal Aid lawyer Ewan Small successfully applied for bail for his client.
He argued bail conditions would ease any risk of Dhadda committing offences if released.
Prosecutor David Leggett opposed bail, saying he had "little confidence of compliance".
He also claimed alcohol abuse was a factor in the alleged offending.
READ ALSO:
Magistrate James Lawton granted bail with the condition Dhadda not be within 100 metres of the Gungahlin bus interchange.
"You've got to start sobering up right now," Mr Lawton warned the defendant.
Dhadda is due back in court on March 7.
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content:
- Bookmark canberratimes.com.au
- Download our app
- Make sure you are signed up for our breaking and regular headlines newsletters
- Follow us on Twitter
- Follow us on Instagram
