A man is accused of sexually abusing a young girl at the Huntington Library Sunday evening when she stepped away from her mother for a moment.

According to police, Christopher Elgut inappropriately touched an 8-year-old girl around 4:30 p.m. Sunday.

The incident happened as the girl was waiting with her mother at the library counter. When the girl stepped a few feet away, police say Elgut picked her up, placed her behind a column and fondled her.

The child screamed, and Elgut ran out the library's front door with security in tow. Police caught up with him about 20 minutes later and he was taken into custody.

Library employees say Elgut started hanging around the library over the summer. On Sunday, they say he was standing outside of the library waiting for it to open.

A library official says the facility's security division was "well aware of him," but the library director notes that it's a public building and people can't be barred from entering "because you think they might do something."

Elgut, of Huntington, was arraigned in Central Islip on Monday. He attempted to speak to the judge, but his legal aid attorney advised him to be quiet. He was ordered held on $75,000 cash bail or $150,000 bond.