Southern Gold Coast assaults: Police to extradite man after girl, 17, grabbed at Pirate Park, Palm Beach
A man will be extradited from New South Wales in relation to two incidents involving 17-year-old girls, one of whom was allegedly grabbed near a popular playground. FULL DETAILS
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A man will be extradited from New South Wales in relation to two incidents involving 17-year-old girls, one of whom was allegedly grabbed near a popular playground, following court appearances south of the border.
Queensland Police Service (QPS) allege that at 12.35am on Tuesday, a Tweed Heads girl was getting off a bus on the Gold Coast Hwy at Palm Beach and was walking south when a man stopped beside her and offered her a lift home.
The girl got in the car and police allege he began driving in the opposite direction towards the backstreets of Burleigh in an erratic manner while touching her thighs.
After an hour the girl was able to jump from the car and ran to hide in nearby bushes.
Police allege the man then searched for the girl, before getting back in his car and driving away.
Within the matter of four hours, police allege a Palm Beach girl was jogging along a track in Tarrabora Reserve, near ‘Pirate Park’, when a man signalled for her to stop.
The girl stopped to speak to the man, who asked her for directions.
He then allegedly grabbed the girl around the waist before she pushed him away and ran from him.
Police allege the man attempted to grab her again, but she was able to escape and found a man close by who contacted police around 5.25am.
Police have located the white Toyota Corolla hatchback they believe was involved, describing the alleged driver as caucasian, around 165cm tall, with an overweight build and round face.
Detective Senior Sergeant Greg Aubort from the QPS child protection unit on the Gold Coast said comprehensive investigations and collaborations with NSW Police led authorities to a person of interest.
“We work daily with our NSW colleagues, sharing information and intelligence,” Det Snr Sgt Aubort said.
“The information that’s come to hand alerted Northern NSW Police to a vehicle (matching) the description.
“A person matching (the alleged offender’s) description was located, which led to investigations for offences that occurred in that state (which are) currently before the court in NSW.”
While QPS will not release details of the NSW charges, they are urging local witnesses and anyone else who may have been offended against on the Gold Coast to come forward.
“There’s a period between midnight on Monday and 11am on Tuesday, it’s within that period that we’re seeking public assistance,” Det Snr Sgt Aubort said.
“We know of two incidents that occurred during that time, there may be more.
“(The Mt Druitt man) has hired a car, we have some GPS data (and) we will be taking out arrest warrants.”
The detective said QPS is “quite confident” the man will be charged and brought before a court for the alleged offences that occurred on the southern Gold Coast, describing one of the victims as “very traumatised”.
Det Snr Sgt Aubort said it wasn’t clear why the man was in Queensland, but he was only here for a “relatively short period”.
On Thursday, detectives were waiting to extradite the man, who was in custody in NSW following an appearance at Ballina Magistrates Court.
Det Snr Sgt Aubort said public assistance was important in keeping the community safe.
“This is about our ability to live our normal lives,” he said.
“To disrupt, prevent, and get in early, we (police) need to respond early to make sure matters like this don’t escalate.”
Support and referrals have been offered to the teenagers in both incidents.
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