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A schoolgirl who was the victim of an alleged abduction attempt in a popular Melbourne laneway says she is now scared of strangers in the street after the ordeal.
The student, aged 14, was walking down Hosier Lane during a school excursion about 10.30am on November 15 when an unknown man approached her and tried to drag her away, Victoria Police said in a statement released on Wednesday.
Police have released this image of a man and a woman they want to speak to regarding the attempted abduction.Credit: Victoria Police
An unknown male witness, who pretended to be a teacher, then intervened, and the girl escaped.
At a press conference on Wednesday afternoon, the teenager, who didn’t want to be identified to protect her privacy and safety, told reporters she no longer wants to go out in public without an older person by her side.
Initially, she said her “mind was all over the place” and she didn’t realise what was happening when the man approached, stuck his head in her face and soon “started to talk about how I was very pretty”.
Then he grabbed her arm and pulled her closer to him. “All I could think about was how hard he was pulling me,” she said. The teenager was relieved when the young man, thought to be aged in his early 20s, intervened.
“I just burst out into tears because I just realised what had gone on,” she said.
Detective Senior Constable Joshua Guy from Victoria Police’s Melbourne sexual offences and child abuse investigation team, appealed to the public for help finding the alleged offenders.
“It’s predatory behaviour in our Melbourne streets at 10.30am in the morning. It’s certainly despicable,” he said. Guy added police still wanted to speak with the good samaritan who subtly intervened. He described his actions as “nothing short of heroic”.
The victim and her two school friends went to a restaurant after the incident before the teenager called her mum and broke down again.
Melbourne’s Hosier Lane is known for its street art murals.Credit: Wayne Taylor
“It was horrific to get that phone call,” her mother told reporters on Wednesday. “She was hysterical at that point.”
The girl was not physically injured and soon contacted her teachers who were elsewhere in the CBD. She says her high school class had been given license to explore the city in small groups on the trip.
The offender was in the company of a woman, but she did not actively participate in the incident. The pair fled Hosier Lane on foot afterwards.
The victim said she thought the man appeared “under the influence of something”. Her mother said she wanted to thank the young man who helped her daughter.
“If not for him, we don’t know what the outcome could’ve been – for her or her friends,” she said. “That’s why we’ve come forward because if this person is still out there doing these things, it’s not appropriate.”
Guy, from Victoria Police, said the incident was isolated, and Hosier Lane was still safe, but said the force would step up patrols in the area to reassure the community.
Anyone with information about the incident is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or via www.crimestoppersvic.com.au.
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