Speak Out: Residents React to Sexual Assault of 7-Year-Old in Marlton

For parents and children who live near the scene of a recent sexual assault of a 7-year-old in Marlton, life is changing, according to multiple reports. 

Parents no longer feel comfortable letting their children play in the street while the suspect, who police said brandished a gun as he forced the victim into the woods where she was sexually assaulted over the weekend, is still on the loose. 

Speaking to WUSA-9, Ciara Bowden, a mother of two who lives in the Marlton Woods apartment complex where the sexual assault occurred, told reporters that she keeps her kids inside the house. 

"We don't play in this area at all," Bowden told WUSA-9. "So close to home. I can't believe this would happen to a child."

James Woods, a teacher at Frederick Douglass High School with three grandchildren who live near the scene of the crime, told The Gazette that "I don't know that anybody's safe anymore."

Another area resident, Kathy Wesley, told The Gazette that she will no longer be allowing her daughter to walk alone in the neighborhood. 

“At this point as parents, we have to be extra vigilant,” Wesley told The Gazette. 

Speak Out: Are you changing your routines or talking to your kids about this crime? Join the discussion in the comment thread below.