A Metro Vancouver businessman is offering a $20,000 reward for information to catch the persons responsible for the sexual assault of a six-year-old Surrey, B.C., girl last week.

Developer Bob Cheema came forward with the cash reward in hopes of getting the culprit off the streets.

"I got three kids so I can see the pain for, you know, for a six-year-old kid going through it, and the community," Cheema told CTV British Columbia.

On Friday night, the little girl was walking with her 12-year-old brother and his 15-year-old male friend near their home when a man with a 15-centimetre knife ordered them into the nearby woods. He then sexually assaulted the girl.

"He makes some threats against the two boys to the extent they remain where they are while he goes off into another area and this poor young six-year-old is sexually assaulted," Sgt. Roger Morrow said of the Surrey RCMP said Monday.

Despite a massive manhunt of the area, no arrests have been made.

Cheema has never met the victim or her family, but says as a father he can understand the pain they are going through.

"I don't know who they are I just picked up the phone and I couldn't hold up myself to step in and do something because I got a young family and I want to see this guy off of the street."

Police say the attacker is described as a darker-skinned male, possibly Hispanic, Asian or South Asian and in his late 20s or early 30s.

Cheema hopes the reward offer will help police crack the case.

"That's the whole focus right now because before he can do to somebody else something like this - the person has to get caught," Cheema said.

The girl's mother, whose identity is being withheld to protect her daughter, says she is grateful.

"It's very, very kind of him," she told CTV News.

She says her daughter is very upset.

"She spurts out now and again little bits to me - she's scared," she said. "I want to get my kid through this."

Morrow says the little girl is very brave.

"We've spoken to the little girl and we were very impressed by how strong she was," he said.

The attack happened Friday night sometime between 6 and 8 p.m., but police didn't hear about it until late Saturday afternoon.

"It's problematic," Morrow said of the delayed report of the crime. "Certainly the parents knew early evening on Friday."

The father of the girl papered the neighbourhood with warning letters before police were called. Morrow couldn't say if it was an attempt at vigilante justice by the family.

"You can no doubt imagine the frustration and likely the sheer anger on behalf of the parents, likely the father ... and his desire to see this person brought before the court," he said.

With a report from CTV British Columbia's Maria Weisgarber