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WEST VALLEY CITY -- West Valley police say they're working around the clock to find the person who assaulted a 6-year-old* girl Friday.
The girl's grandfather says she is doing better, considering what happened, but he admits he's still very angry about the crime.
According to the girl's grandfather, she was choked and assaulted. He says the girl told her family she walked to her friend's house on Friday, but her friend wasn't home.
Moments later, the girl says she was lured into a backyard and choked. The grandfather says the girl passed out and doesn't remember anything after that.
"It's just horrible to think what she could be going through. We don't know exactly what she went through," neighbor Todd Levie said.
Police have not commented officially on whether the child was sexually assaulted, nor would they discuss whether they have a suspect in the case. Even so, police believe the suspect targeted the girl as his victim.
"It doesn't appear to be random at this point," said West Valley police Lt. John Coyle. "But again, that'll all come out once the detectives are finished with their follow-up interviews."
We know investigators talked to the 17-year-old boy who first encountered the injured little girl. His father, Don Bullock, talked to KSL News shortly after.
"It's been traumatic, you know? West Valley police have to do their job and took us all in. It was an ordeal to be uptown treating him as the No. 1 subject instead of the hero," Bullock said.
The teen, who lives in the neighborhood, told police he heard the girl crying while taking a break from mowing the lawn. She was apparently behind his fence.
He called his 16-year-old sister, and then they called their parents, who, in turn, called 911. Bullock says both his son and daughter are mentally challenged.
"We're just telling them they did the right thing. They did a good job. They notified a grownup as soon as they could, and we got help as soon as we could," Bullock said.
When a criminal case involves a young child, Coyle says investigators are more sensitive about what information they release. Right now, they're not saying if they're anticipating an arrest anytime soon.
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Story compiled with contributions from Nicole Gonzales and Sandra Yi.
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*Editors Note: The girl was originally reported as being 5 years old. KSL News has since learned that she is actually 6 years old.
