She said it's "scary" that the incident happened so close to a local school.
"It's a big concern when someone like that is around the neighbourhood," she said.
Mrs Bennett said she often thinks of heading out for fresh air and exercise but doesn't feel the neighbourhood is as safe as it once was.
"I used to be able to walk around without worrying but now I'm not so comfortable," she said.
Resident Travis McNiece said he woke up between 8 and 8.30am and heard a person screaming on the street.
He too dismissed the noises for the general hustle and bustle of parents dropping their primary schoolchildren off every weekday morning.
"I thought it was a school kid's scream. Every morning I hear kids laughing and screaming so I just went back to sleep," Mr McNiece said.
Flaxmere Primary School principal Robyn Isaacson said no pupils had seen the incident.
"No children witnessed it at all. It was caught on camera and there were no children in the area," she said.
Ms Isaacson said she didn't have any concerns about the pupils' safety.
"I'm happy with how it's being resolved by police," Ms Isaacson said.
It is believed police viewed security footage filmed by the school before an arrest was made.
A 20-year-old man has been charged with attempted sexual violation and will be appearing in Hastings District Court on Monday December 12.
Police said as the matter is now before the courts they could not comment further.