Australian Olympians have been warned not to go out alone or in their uniform after an Australian woman was gang-raped by five men in Paris.
French authorities have launched a major investigation into the brazen attack that took place in the early hours of Saturday in the northern district of Pigalle, just days before the Olympic Games begin.
Australian chef de mission Anna Meares said she had not heard of any threats against team members but they have been advised to be careful when leaving the athletes’ village.
“I’ve been told it looks horrific. Obviously our hearts go out to the woman involved and we hope she is receiving care and support in the trauma she has experienced,” Meares said Tuesday morning.
“We haven’t received many details or much information.”
Meares reiterated that team members had been given detailed briefings on safety and security precautions.
“The information we are conveying to our athletes is that the security presence is very, very high and that is so that they can act as quickly as possible to keep them safe,” he said.
‘We have not yet received any feedback from our athletes that they have felt unsafe; we encourage them that if they leave the village, do not go out alone, do not wear your team uniform, just wear normal clothes.
Australia’s Olympic team has been informed following an alleged gang rape in Paris
A 25-year-old woman sought refuge in a Paris kebab shop after being brutally raped by five men at around 5am. But moments later, one of the woman’s alleged rapists (blurred on the far left of the image) (circled) approached her and patted her.
“We are waiting for more information about the case itself.”
The attack took place early Saturday morning (local time) on Boulevard de Clichy.
The opening ceremony of the Games will take place on Friday evening.
The women had spent Friday night drinking in bars and clubs around the Moulin Rouge cabaret before the men approached them at an unspecified location.
She told police she was attacked by a group of five men “of African appearance” and brutally raped at around 5am before escaping and seeking safety at the nearby Dounia kebab shop.
CCTV footage from the Lebanese late-night restaurant, located on Boulevard de Clinchy in the city’s 18th arrondissement, shows the terrified 25-year-old woman cowering in the shop and begging the owners for help as staff and fellow customers tried in vain to comfort her.
A man then enters the kebab shop and the woman gestures to him to indicate that he was a member of the group that had attacked her just moments before.
Harrowing security footage has captured the moment a visibly distraught Australian woman seeks refuge in a Paris kebab shop after being allegedly gang-raped. People are seen helping the woman, who is blurred out, outside the kebab shop.
The Australian woman sought refuge inside the Paris kebab shop but was confronted by one of the men who had attacked her minutes earlier. Passers-by are seen talking to the woman, who appears in a blur, and to police.
The alleged rapist then approaches her and pats her on the back before asking for some food.
A diner then confronts the alleged rapist and punches him while staff intervene to separate them. The man leaves the restaurant.
Staff and customers, including several men and a blonde woman in a beige dress, continue to comfort the woman until police arrive.
Two officers are seen speaking to the woman about the devastating experience, before she was taken to Bichat Hospital.
The woman, who was described as having her “dress on backwards”, also claimed her mobile phone had been stolen.
The images are likely to provide crucial evidence as French authorities investigate the alarming incidents, which have cast a shadow over the opening ceremony of the city’s Olympic Games later this week.
The woman was reportedly “disoriented and unable to speak a word of French” when she told police what had happened. She was reportedly unable to give details about the exact location or circumstances of the attack.
“Her memory of that night is very confused, but she says that up to five men raped her,” said an investigative source.
‘She was seen wandering around Pigalle, in a state of some confusion and distress.
“Staff working at a kebab shop saw her dress was on backwards when she went in to seek help,” the source said.
Paris prosecutors declined to comment on the video on Tuesday but confirmed a judicial inquiry had been opened into the “gang rape” allegation.
They said no arrests had yet been made and did not issue any description of the suspected attackers.
The woman had reportedly booked a flight home for the day after the attack, but it is now known she will stay in Paris to help police with the investigation.
Boulevard de Clinchy, famous for its art and theatre venues, is at the heart of Paris’s notorious red-light district, with an erotic dance club and sex shop located next to the kebab shop where the woman took refuge.
It is also less than three miles from the Stade de France, which will be the focal point of the Olympics, which open on Friday.