Police have arrested two men over the alleged sexual assault of a strictly Orthodox child from the Satmar community which took place in the Stamford Hill area of north London last week.

A police spokesman confirmed that detectives from the Metropolitan Police’s sexual offences and child abuse unit were investigating the matter.

The spokesman said: “A 42-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of rape on Sunday, September 14, and taken to an east London police station. He has since been bailed to a date in mid-October pending further enquiries."

Another 22-year-old man was arrested a few days later in connection with the investigation and was released on bail until late October.

A source inside the Stamford Hill community told the JC he was “100 per cent sure” the first man arrested was not Jewish.