A 16-year-old boy has been charged with rape after a female jogger was allegedly thrown to the ground and sexually assaulted in Melbourne.
The woman says she heard someone approaching from behind her as she ran under a bridge at Jacana Reserve in Melbourne’s north at about 11.30am on August 14, police said.
The man then threw her to the ground and sexually assaulted her.
The woman managed to escape and ran to a parking lot, where two citizens called the police.
She was taken to hospital with minor injuries, including scrapes and sore shoulders.
Victorian Detective Inspector Mark Burnett of the Sex Crimes Squad praised the woman’s response to her attacker.
“She is a very brave woman and we were particularly impressed with the way she was able to assist the police with our enquiries and provide a very accurate statement,” he told reporters on Friday.
“And the way she was able to fight and flee the scene.”
A 16-year-old boy has been charged with rape after a female jogger was thrown to the ground and sexually assaulted in Melbourne. Police released this image last week
The Air Wing team and the canine squad searched the area but were unable to locate the man.
Police executed a search warrant at a home in Melbourne’s north on Tuesday.
A teenager was arrested and charged with rape, harassment, false imprisonment, common law assault, recklessly causing injury, sexual imprisonment and two counts of sexual assault.
The woman did not know him.
The child will appear before a juvenile court.
Police previously released images of an unidentified man wearing a dark jumper and trousers who they wanted to speak to as part of the investigation.
