Safety concerns after indecent exposure on popular Alice Springs bike track

An Alice Springs woman is encouraging other possible victims of indecent exposure to contact police, after multiple incidents on a popular bike track.

An Alice Springs woman is scared to be alone in her own home at night after a man exposed himself and directed crude remarks to her while walking with a friend on a popular track.

The woman, who did not want to be named for privacy reasons, said she was walking with a friend on the Desert Park Trail on Wednesday evening when they walked past a man who asked the two women for sex.

“We just politely said no thanks and kept walking,” she said.

“I thought he just kept walking but when we turned around he had actually stopped.

“We walked a little further and turned around, and it was pretty clear that he was pulling his pants down and touching his penis.

“He just kept yelling stuff out, he yelled out ‘big juicy bum’ and ‘come have sex with me’ and then after that I couldn’t even recall what he said, he just kept yelling it out.

The Desert Park Trail in Alice Springs where two women were the victims of indecent exposure on Wednesday evening

“He stood there for probably a good 30 seconds, and I think 30 seconds is a really long time in these sort of things.”

She emphasised how isolated the particular track was.

The women ran to Blain St at the end of the trail, and immediately phoned police.

She said that she had initially been hesitant about reporting the incident as there was a perception that police “couldn’t do anything”, but had been extremely impressed by the response.

“I felt very validated and very reassured, they spent about two hours taking statements,” she said.

“The chances of this man being found may be slim, but in our minds, we kept thinking, what if we didn’t ring the police and then this man offends again and they’ve only got on report of him?”

She said after the incident she no longer felt safe walking, going to the shops, or staying at home at night by herself, and would “never ever” use the track again.

“I’ve always had that attitude, with things the way they are in town, that I don’t want to be a prisoner in my own home, this has definitely dampened that attitude, I can assure you I would not like even going to woolies alone now.”

She said she had lived in the town for two years, and if another incident occurred she would be leaving.

“If this sort of stuff keeps happening it will send me out of town, it will send me home.

“And that’s why people leave, stuff like this can absolutely ruin and destroy people.”

The woman, who is not a local but has lived in the town for two years, said she would be leaving if another incident occurred. Picture: Jason Walls

“Unfortunately, I say to a lot of people that don’t live here when they ask how bad the crime is, I say to them ‘it’s not a matter of if something’s going to happen to you, it’s a matter of when something is going to happen to you’, and this was my when.”

NT Police said the two women were walking on the bike trail on Wednesday when a man allegedly indecently exposed himself and made threatening comments at 6.45pm.

They said the man was described as of Aboriginal appearance, wearing a black baseball cap faced backwards, a black hoodie and black basketball shorts.

They urged anyone with information, particularly with CCTV or dashcam footage which may have captured the incident or a person matching the description, to contact police and quote reference 10359863.

The incident comes less than three weeks after a woman was indecently assaulted on the same trail between Blain St and Albrecht Dr.

The woman had been walking the Desert Park Trail just after 5.30pm on Saturday, May 13 when a man allegedly grabbed her after exposing himself.

The woman was able to escape and call for help, and the offender fled the scene.

Police said the man was described as being of Aboriginal appearance, slim build, wearing a black cap, black hoodie and black basketball shorts and appeared to be in his late teens or early 20s.

An NT Police spokesman said police did not have evidence to suggest it was the same offender for both incidents.

He confirmed there had been no arrests made in relation to either incident.

“Investigations and call for witnesses still ongoing.”

Originally published as Safety concerns after indecent exposure on popular Alice Springs bike track