A man has been charged over the alleged kidnapping and sexual assault of a seven-year-old girl, who was taken from a shopping centre north of Brisbane on Saturday.

A 26-year-old Morayfield man has been charged with taking a child for immoral purposes, deprivation of liberty and indecent treatment of a child under 12.

A police media spokesman said the man allegedly spoke to the young girl and they left the store together.

It is believed police used CCTV to identify the man.

He appeared in the Pine Rivers Magistrates Court today.

The Pine Rivers Court was closed while the matter was briefly mentioned this morning before being adjourned to be heard again tomorrow.

A Facebook post circulated widely over the past few days gave a second-hand account of the incident, claiming that a child was taken from Kmart at North Lakes, while her mother was shopping.

The post claimed that the child was returned about an hour and a half later.

But when contacted by the ABC on Monday, staff at Queensland Police Media said they weren’t aware of the incident.

In a statement released today police said an investigation centre was set up to find the man which included detectives from the Child Protection Investigation Unit and the Child Abuse and Sexual Crime Group.

Detective Superintendent Tony Fleming thanked officers for their work.

“My thanks also extend to Westfield North Lakes staff for their cooperation and support to police in this investigation,” he said.

“Crimes in circumstances such as this are not common, but it is a timely reminder that a very small number of people could take advantage of an opportunity to harm a child.”

A Kmart spokesman said the store is aware of the incident and is assisting police with their investigation.