Man accused of raping girl, 6, while she was in church with her family

A registered sex-offender allegedly carried off a six-year-old who was in church with her family and sexually assaulted her in a bathroom while he stifled her screams.

William Brandon Coffey is accused of grabbing the girl while she was on her way to the toilet at the Body of Hope Church in Raleigh in North Carolina on Tuesday.

Court documents state he carried her to the men's bathroom and "covered the mouth of the victim when she attempted to scream".

When he had finished assaulting her he then kissed her and let her go, according to Investigator A. J. Doughty.

When the girl came back to her parents, Doughty wrote, they saw that she had urinated on herself and asked what had happened.

They called police, but Coffey had left the church before officers arrived, the News and Observer reported.

Coffey, who appeared in court yesterday, is being remanded in custody.

According to court documents, he served two years and three months in prison for kidnapping and molesting a 9-year-old girl at a north Raleigh apartment complex in May of 2009.

Raleigh police said he encountered the girl as she was walking from the pool. Authorities said Coffey "touched her inappropriately."

In a statement, Body of Christ Church said that while it has stringent procedures in place for all personnel working with children, Coffey was not a church member and was visiting a men's Bible study group when the alleged attack happened.

"Our ultimate concern and care now and has always been for the child and family involved," it said.