After allegedly indecently assaulting a 13-year-old girl among a busy crowd at Melbourne’s Flinders Street station, a man fled on a train.
According to the police, the 13-year-old girl from Prahran had spent the day with friends and was heading home to catch a train when she was assaulted on an escalator at the station around 6:15 pm on Sunday.
Detective Senior Constable Craig Buttigieg reported that the man had followed and assaulted the young girl on both the escalator and the train platform, with numerous people present.
“While she was simply listening to her iPod and making her way down the escalator, he approached her from behind and touched her,” Buttigieg stated.
“He also engaged in a brief conversation with her and touched her on the front of her body before leaving.”
According to DSC Buttigieg, the man, seemingly in his early 20s, had inquired about the girl’s age prior to departing.
Nevertheless, he attempted to follow her back to the main area of the station, only fleeing to catch a Frankston-bound train when she approached Metro staff for assistance.
He mentioned that there were many individuals nearby who might have witnessed the incident.
“This is extremely concerning; such behavior is completely inappropriate, and the fact that he acted in such a populated area shows a clear disregard for others,” he stated.
Despite the crowd present during the incident, no witnesses have reached out to the police or spoken to the girl at the scene.
By releasing CCTV footage of the man sought for questioning, DSC Buttigieg expressed hope that there would be several witnesses willing to provide assistance.
He noted that the footage indicated the man had been loitering at the station for an extended period and appeared to deliberately target the victim, who was quite upset at that moment.
