Search for men who helped teen girl after terrifying alleyway sexual assault
A search is underway for a group of men who helped a Melbourne teenager after she was dragged into an alleyway and sexually assaulted.
A woman in her late teens was walking along Flinders Street towards Swanston Street, in the city’s CBD, to catch a tram shortly after 1.45am on June 9.
As she walked past a bar situated below a hostel between Elizabeth Street and Degraves Street, a man exited the building and started to walk alongside her.
He then placed his arm around her shoulders and neck, and engaged her in a short conversation as they continued to walk towards Swanston Street.
As the pair approached the Metro Tunnel works, the man pulled the woman to him and kissed her, Victoria Police said.
“She pushed him away and continued to walk towards Swanston Street, however the man kept his arm around her shoulders and neck,” the statement read.
“Once they passed the works, the man dragged the victim into an alleyway behind high metal gates, locked the gates, then sexually assaulted her.”
The woman managed to scream and was able to run away from the man and out the gates on to Flinders Street before three males noticed she was visibly distressed and stepped in to help.
They were able to help her contact a friend and arrange transport home, but detectives understand the woman did not tell the males she had been sexually assaulted.
A series of CCTV images of those men have now been released in the hope they will come forward and help detectives with their investigation.
“These men are not linked to the offender in any way and were not involved in the incident,” Victoria Police said in a statement.
Police would also like to speak to anyone in the area on the night who saw the victim leave the alleyway on Flinders Street after the incident, or heard a woman yell out from inside the alleyway.
Anyone who captured any dashcam or social media footage or images in the vicinity of the incident on June 9, particularly near the bar the man came out of on Flinders Street, are also encouraged to contact police.
Police are also continuing to search for the man involved in the incident.
He is described as being aged in his early 20s, about 178cm tall with a lean build, dark brown skin and short hair.
Anyone with information is encouraged to call Crime Stoppers 1800 333 000 or use the Crime Stoppers online reporting page.
