German police have faced criticism after waiting almost a week before releasing a public appeal for help to catch a suspected child sex offender from Romania wanted after kidnapping a six-year-old girl at a water park.

The delay, which has been criticised by German newspaper Bild, follows on from a similar incident in Northern Ireland where police were accused of withholding information about the nationality of two teenage Romanian boys charged with attempting to rape a young girl in Ballymena, County Antrim.

In that case, public perception that key details were being hidden triggered some of the worst rioting seen in the region in years, with violence spreading to Belfast, Carrickfergus, Newtownabbey and Derry, leaving dozens of police officers injured and numerous people arrested.

The German case took place at the Rulantica water world in the Europa-Park Resort, in the town of Rust, on 9th August.

Police said the girl had lost sight of her parents when the suspect, a 31-year-old Romanian man, offered to help her.

He allegedly lured her from the indoor section of the park into an adjoining forest before forcing her to carry out sexual acts.

The child was found around two hours later miles away from the town, wearing only her swimsuit and sandals.

She had reportedly walked through the woods alone before being spotted by a passer-by who alerted the authorities.

Investigators said the suspect had previously been in trouble with the law for theft and fraud offences.

A warrant was issued for his arrest and an international search was launched after police said they believed he may have fled to Romania.

Europa-Park staff provided CCTV footage to the police which led to his identification.

German media have questioned why no photo or name of the suspect was released earlier so parents could be on alert, warning that he could have remained free to target other children during the days before the public appeal was made.

Police have appealed for witnesses who saw anything between 8:20pm and 10:20pm on the night of the incident to come forward.

(Mike Leidig / newsX)