Police: Homeless man assaulted 5-year-old

SAN FRANCISCO -- A 5-year-old girl was assaulted by a homeless man Wednesday morning in San Francisco's Cow Hollow as she was walking near Union and Octavia streets, police say.

"The girl was walking with her mother when this man came up to the child, unprovoked, grabbed her by the neck, lifted her off the ground and placed her against the side of a building," San Francisco Police Department's Sgt. Mike Andraychak said.

Officers were on the scene within minutes and the suspect was taken into custody. He has been identified as 31-year-old Andras Kosdi and he told officers he was suffering from an illness.

Police say he will likely face several felony charges, including false imprisonment and battery on a child.

The little girl had a minor injury to her neck and was treated at the hospital.

ABC7 News spoke with restaurant owner Angelo Ferrari who said he has had to call the police three times in recent months because of aggressive homeless people. He said, "I had homeless people coming into this restaurant demanding food and punching on the deli case when I told them to leave."

Jennifer Friedenbach with the San Francisco Coalition on Homelessness says too many people with mental illness need help, but can't get it.

She pointed out, "We've seen massive cuts to our mental health treatment system and as a result, we have a lot of folks with untreated mental illnesses out there."

Police say Kosdi is now getting medical treatment.