A weekly playdate involving two Whakatane mothers and their children took a sinister turn in a public toilet.

A post on the Whakatane Matters Facebook page tells how the women had met at the Eivers Road bike park with their children on Wednesday afternoon.

At around 4.30pm, one the children, a five-year-old boy, needed the bathroom, and his mother, who did not want to be named, took him to the public toilet block nearby.

There they were attacked and sexually harassed by an offender described as being 'as a large male of Māori appearance”.

He approached the mother and son with his pants down and genitals in his hand.

The man tried to force the woman and her son into a cubicle but she screamed, causing passersby to run to her assistance. The offender then ran off.

One of the men who responded to her cries tells how he was walking his dog in Warren Park when he heard a woman screaming.

'The poor girl was in shock and had a young child with her. This scumbag is still out and about and I know what he looks like. Keep your kids close,” he says on Facebook.

The offender is described as a 'scruffy” young Māori man, over 6ft tall, aged in his late teens or early twenties.

He was wearing a black and yellow jersey and black shorts.

The incident was reported to Whakatane Police, who are investigating.

Anyone with information on the attack or any other suspicious activity are urged to contact police, or call 105 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

-Whakatane Beacon/Alex Roa.