Lake Macquarie Police are searching for a man who assaulted a teenage girl at Cooranbong.
The 15-year-old was walking along Freemans Drive just before 11am on Saturday when she noticed a man following her before he disappeared.
Brooke Eggleton from Police Headquarters says a short time later the man reappeared from nearby bushes and grabbed the girl from behind, placing his hand across her mouth.
The girl ran to a nearby church, where staff alerted police.
The man is described as being of African appearance, 20-30 years of age, a medium build and was last seen wearing grey knee length shorts.
