A LaPorte man is behind bars,after being suspected in the sexual assault of an 8 year-old girl. Police were called to Stone Lake Beach early Thursday afternoon after a report of an attempted child abduction. Police say the girl was with her family at the beach, but alone near a hill when she was approached by 50 year-old Gary Cooper. Investigators say he coerced her to follow him and assaulted the girl. Witnesses told police they saw Cooper loitering near the area beforehand. He remains in the LaPorte County Jail on ten-thousand dollars bond.
