An elderly grandmother has recalled how she fought off a man with her walker after he allegedly sexually assaulted her and threatened to kill her during a terrifying ordeal.
A major search is now underway to locate the man who allegedly followed the woman in her 80s into a lift at her South Yarra apartment complex in Melbourne’s city center on April 1.
The man allegedly waited 45 minutes for the woman to enter the elevator and then exposed himself to her.
He then allegedly followed the woman out of the elevator and onto a staircase, where he sexually assaulted her and told her, “I’ll come back and kill you.”
The terrified woman managed to fight him off with her walker until a passerby intervened and scared him away.
Police searching for man accused of sexually assaulting elderly grandmother in elevator
The elderly woman was forced to fight the man with her walker during the ordeal.
The man fled the scene on foot and the woman spent the night in the hospital.
Five weeks later, the woman is still traumatized by the ordeal.
She has lived in South Yarra for 25 years but is now too afraid to live alone.
The woman was disappointed to discover that there are no security cameras inside the staircase.
Police released CCTV on Wednesday as part of an appeal.
“When he was in the elevator with the victim, he propositioned her for a sexual act and offered her money for that sexual act,” said police detective Andrew Turton. nine news.
Police believe this man captured on CCTV can help with their investigations.
“This crime is not acceptable… What is more worrying is that it appears to be targeted.”
The man is described as being of Asian descent, in his 20s, about 180cm tall, with black hair and facial hair.
He wore a black hooded sweater with the word “Jordan” written on the back along with black pants and sneakers.
Anyone with information that could assist investigators is asked to contact Crime Stoppers.
