A SIX-year-old girl was sexually assaulted after getting separated from her parents at a water park – with the depraved perpetrator still on the run.

The terrifying incident occurred when the suspect engaged the child under the guise of offering assistance, only to then forcefully take her to a wooded area where she was sexually assaulted.

The child lost sight of her parents during a visit to the popular Rulatica water park in Germany.

The facility, run by Europa-park, is located in Rust, Baden-Württemberg, near the French border.

German police said the sick attack took place on Saturday, August 9, L’Alsace reported.

After sexually abusing her, the suspect reportedly left her alone in the woods.

She was then found by a local passerby around 10pm the same day.

The area she was discovered in was about 5km from the water park, and she was only wearing a swimsuit.

The suspect is reportedly a 31-year-old Romanian national.

He was living in the local region at the time of the attack, reports say.

Cops are desperately continuing their manhunt for the suspect.

And they put out an appeal for any information that may lead to his arrest.

Authorities have urged: “Anyone who was in Rulantica or the nearby forested area north of the park on Saturday between 8:20 p.m. and 10:20 p.m. and witnessed the man with the girl is requested to reach out to German officials.”

The beloved Rulantica water park can hold a maximum of 6,000 visitors per day.

This follows a surge of sexual assault cases reportedly occurring in public swimming pools across Germany, which has been described as a crisis.

In one severely affected area, there have been 74 alleged incidents, many involving minors, including a shocking occurrence involving eight young girls in a single day.

The issue started to raise questions across Germany after a concerning number of reports were made in June.

Police detained four Syrian nationals, ages 18 to 28, the following month on charges of sexually assaulting up to eight girls at a public swimming pool in Hesse.

The victims were aged between 11 to 16 and had all been at the Barbarossabad pool on the same day. 

Criminal charges were filed against all of the suspects, who were also been banned from the pool following the harrowing incident.