Harassment vignette

The other day I was sitting chatting with some people from a residents' association, in a community shop on an urban estate. We had the door open so that it was welcoming for passers-by. An elderly man appeared at the threshold, very short with a quiet voice and hesitant manner. We sat him down and he told his story, which he related with resigned dignity. It concerned physical attacks made upon him by a young girl, over the past several months. He lives alone, having been on the estate for thirty years, but had not been able to get much support from neighbours nor from the police in dealing with the harassment. We saw him later as we walked round the neighbourhood, and the girl was identified. It's not appropriate here for me to say much more, for obvious reasons. I just wanted to note that help was given because the community shop was there and it was open, some of its representatives were available, and people were ready to make time to listen to his story. According to the man's account, the police, paid to take such incidents seriously, seem not to have done so.