Panaji, Nov 1 (IANS): Goa Police Tuesday asked parents to report the sexual abuse of their wards after the arrest of an alleged child rapist, known to have molested at least half a dozen minors over a year.

Bonny D'Souza, 19, was arrested Monday after he tried to sodomize two girls aged 8 and 10 when they were returning from school.

"He tried to sodomize one girl in a toilet as she was returning home...Her cries alerted people in the area, but Bonny managed to flee the scene. Luckily someone spotted his bike number," police inspector Tushar Lotlikar told IANS.

"Bonny is involved in five other known cases. If there are more, people should come forward and inform us. We are duty bound to keep the identities of the victims and their families a secret," Lotlikar said, adding most of D'Souza's victims were from the coastal villages of Calangute, Nagoa and Arpora.

D'Souza used to focus only on minors, irrespective of sex, sources said.

"He would lie in wait for school children going back home alone, he would then isolate one or two and rape them in nearby thickets. During interrogation he told us that he would physically assault them if they cried out loud," police said.

"He abused children because he was abused as a child," police said.