UPDATE: A shocking allegation has surfaced about the assault charge faced by Michelle Levy's father.

Update:  Tonight news networks are reporting that the assault charges faced by Michelle Levy’s father Adam concern a child.

Seven News’ Alex Hart reported, “It’s been confirmed that [Levy] is facing an unrelated charge of common assault involving a child aged between six and seven.”

“I’m not going to discuss the circumstances, but I don’t believe the charges are justified,” Levy told the cameras.

He is due in court next month.

More to come. 

Update:

While 11-year-old Michelle Levy headed back to school today and is attempting to settle back into her regular routine, the older man who took the runaway Bondi girl in for two nights appears to be hiding from media surrounding his home.

Media continue to wait outside the man’s Randwick unit block, despite the fact police believe nothing suspicious happened with the man.

Police and paramedics have attended the unit block this afternoon out of concern for his welfare when he did not answer his phone, Fairfax Media reports — but Inspector Steven Egbers said the man was not at home because he did not want to talk to waiting media, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.

Ambulance NSW said they had been called as a precaution, and paramedics left after about 20 minutes.

Previously, Mamamia wrote:

More than 1000 volunteers and police officers searched Sydney on Sunday and Monday for Michelle Levy, the 11-year-old North Bondi runaway who was finally found in Randwick yesterday morning.

Now it’s emerged Michelle’s father is due to face court accused of assault in an unrelated occurrence.

News.com.au reports NSW police said in a statement they had “charged a 40-year-old man with common assault earlier this month in relation to an incident with a male.”

“He is to appear at Waverley Local Court on 20 November,” the statement said.

Michelle, a year 5 student at Woolahra Public School, is not the subject of that allegation.

Michelle’s father, Adam Levy declined to comment on the charges to News Corp, and told Fairfax Media he didn’t want to talk about prior dealings the family might have had with authorities.

“Anything you may have heard had nothing to do with Michelle so we are not commenting,” he told Fairfax Media.

Mr Levy added that he understood police interest in Michelle’s disappearance, The Daily Telegraph reports.

“They have to rule out that we haven’t done something to her and then covered it up. Once they had her in Bondi Junction on CCTV they eliminated that,” he said. “Apart from physical injury to her there would be other things they would be concerned about.”

The Department of Family and Community services would not confirm whether the family was known to them, with a spokeswoman telling Fairfax Media the department was “not permitted to publicly comment about whether an individual child or their family is known to our agency”.

“We understand that the department’s statutory requirement to preserve the privacy of a family or comply with relevant court orders will at times conflict with requests for information about incidents relating to a child,” the spokeswoman said.

More details about why Michelle may have fled have also emerged, with a police source reportedly telling The Daily Telegraph Michelle’s disappearance followed an argument with her father over a chocolate laying under a bed.

Michelle’s mother Anne Levy earlier said her daughter fled after “a petty family argument which we won’t discuss because it might cause her some embarrassment,” news.com.au reports.

Mr Levy told Fairfax Media he did not want to discuss the nature of the argument.

“It was a discipline issue,” Mr Levy said. “We don’t want to embarrass her by having the details broadcast.”

It emerged yesterday that Michelle, who left her home around 6:30pm on Saturday night, had stayed with an “older man” for Saturday and Sunday nights.

The Daily Telegraph reports Michelle was found by an Anglicare worker at the Randwick apartment of the man, whom Michelle met at Bondi Junction the night she ran away.

It is believed the man phoned the Anglicare worker who rang ­Michelle’s parents. Police believe nothing suspicious happened with the man,who was interviewed and released without charge yesterday, according to The Daily Telegraph.

Mr Levy said yesterday: “She hooked up with someone on Saturday night – I mean, not in the hook-up sense.”

“Someone came across her and took her under their wing since Saturday night.”

“We don’t know exactly what happened. All we know is that they went shopping.”

Posing with her family outside their home yesterday, Michelle said she had missed her parents. Her brother ­replied: “If you missed them why did you run away?”

Michael Carr-Grgeg wrote for Fairfax Media today that Michelle’s age is unusual for a runaway, “as the average age of running away is about 13 to 15”.

He also writes that outreach charity Open Families Australia says around 80 per cent of the children it helps are homeless as a result of family breakdown but children and young people from families in all walks of life run away from home for “all kinds of reasons…(i)Including abuse, parents separating or the arrival of a new step-parent”.

“Others might have done something they’re ashamed of and they’re afraid to tell their parents,”  Dr Carr-Gregg said.

“The take-home message for all parents from the Levy family experience is to set limits and boundaries early, be consistent in parenting and try and maintain the lines of communication, only arguing over things that matter, seek compromise and try to negotiate,” he said.

“Above all maintain a developmental perspective. Monitor and supervise your child and try and seek to build resilient children.”

Adam Levy talks about Michelle’s disappearance to reporters:

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