Girl, 11, sexually assaulted at knifepoint for hours by abductor
AN 11-YEAR-OLD girl who was abducted at knifepoint and sexually assaulted during a five-hour terrifying ordeal in Newcastle was walking to school when the man pounced.
NSW
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AN 11-YEAR-OLD girl who was abducted at knifepoint and sexually assaulted during a five-hour terrifying ordeal in Newcastle was walking to school when the man pounced.
The year 6 girl has been described as “brave” by police who today said it was their “mission” to track down the predator responsible for the sickening kidnapping on Terence St in Adamstown Heights.
One parent of a girl who is friends with the victim told The Daily Telegraph she was “just a really quiet polite little girl”.
She said the community would rally behind the family.
“I saw her yesterday get into the ambulance … she was just so distraught,” she said.
“It’s horrible, it’s devastating to think a child has been treated like that.”
Police say the girl was walking to school at 9.15am on Tuesday when the man approached her from behind, threatened her with a knife and sexually assaulted her in Hudson Park.
He then forced her into a red car, thought to be a Commodore sedan, and drove to bushland where she was again sexually assaulted.
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The man kept her for five hours before he dropped her at Kotara Railway Station and she was able to walk 1.5km to a home where she raised the alarm about what she had been through.
“She reported it to (a relative),” Child Abuse and Sex Crimes Squad Detective Chief Inspector Paul Jacob said.
“She is now in the safe custody of her parents.”
Police spent the day scouring the area for CCTV, seeking dashcam footage and painstakingly looking through bushland next to Belair Public School to find clues to catch the predator.
The man has been described as having wrinkles on his forehead and around his mouth, with brown staining on his teeth and chubby hands.
He also had a distinctive hoodie which was black and grey with blue colouring at the waist level.
“In relation to the jacket, he had it zipped up over his chin and mouth. It was a hoodie and that prevented the young lady from seeing his full face,” Det Insp Jacob said.
Intelligence officers are also going through recent reports of child approaches in the area to see if they have any links to the man.
“This is a worrying crime committed in broad daylight (against) a very brave young girl, while she was on her way to school,” Det Insp Jacob said.
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“It is horrendous, but he did get away with it, he did undertake these series of crimes against this young lady and it is our mission to get this person and remove him from the community.”
A crime scene was set up at Kotara Community Hall yesterday as police followed a “number of lines of inquiry” to find out where the man took the girl during the five hours.
Parents at the school yesterday said they were in shock and disbelief over what had happened.
“This area is such a close-knit community. I think everyone is banding together to get this guy off the streets. It is sick,” one parent said.
“You think schools should be such a safe place.”
Another father, Nathan, said: “I live five minutes up the road it’s very concerning. I received an email from the school today saying they have spoken to the students about everything.”
Another mother who broke down in tears said: “It’s very heartbreaking and I think it’s just a mixture of anger that it happened. It’s just hard.”
“It’s a big school, but not that big a school. I believe the girl might be in my son’s class.”
Other parents said they would not be letting their children walk to school after what happened.
A spokeswoman for the NSW Education Department did not answer questions about whether the family was notified when the girl didn’t show up for school.
“The school today emailed parents and sent a letter home with students to provide information about the incident and explaining what the school was doing to support students,” she said.
“Counselling has been offered to students and teachers have reminded students about important precautions of the NSW Policed Safe People, Safe Places program.
“These messages have also been reinforced among the students of other public schools in the area.
“The student and her family have been offered counselling and support by the department.”
Anyone with information or dashcam video taken in the area yesterday is urged to contact CrimeStoppers on 1800 333 00
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