A 13-year-old boy has been arrested over the alleged attempted sexual assault of two women in Melbourne, Australia, following a five-week investigation. The incident took place in broad daylight, and the suspect was reportedly chased off by a pack of dogs.
Arrest after five-week investigation
Victoria Police said the teen was taken into custody as part of the investigation, but charges have not yet been issued. The arrest followed a search warrant executed at a residential address in the Boroondara area at approximately 7.30am.
The two women targeted in the alleged attack are aged 67 and 39. They were reportedly ambushed during their morning walk in the suburb of Kooyong on July 14. The women said an individual jumped out of the bushes and attempted to grab one of them.
Dogs chase off alleged attacker
After one woman freed herself from the alleged attacker, he turned to her friend. In a series of events, the group of dogs the women were walking with turned on the alleged attacker, chasing him away from the two victims.
Footage of the dogs chasing the suspect was captured on camera and has gone viral on social media. Numerous dogs can be seen running at the individual, who was dressed in a grey hoodie, forcing him to flee underneath a bridge while the animals nipped at his legs.
Police statement and appeal
Victoria Police said in a statement: “Over the past five weeks, detectives have pursued multiple lines of inquiry, including information provided by members of the public.
“At approximately 7.30am this morning, detectives executed a search warrant at a residential address in the Boroondara area, where a 13-year-old boy was arrested.
“The boy was taken from his home to a police station and interviewed by detectives.
“He was subsequently released pending further investigation, including inquiries into whether he may be linked to any other reported incidents of a similar nature.”
Andrew Wise, acting detective senior sergeant at the Bayside sexual offences and child abuse investigation team, thanked locals who helped the investigation. He added: “We received a number of valuable pieces of information from the community, including reports made through Crime Stoppers, which greatly assisted our investigation.”
After the video was released, police appealed for a suspect “of African appearance wearing black tracksuit pants, white socks, slides, a black and grey hooded top and a black face covering.”
