Parents frightened: Teenage girl allegedly attacked near Casuarina interchange

A teenage girl was allegedly dragged into a toilet outside Casuarina library by a stranger, who then tried to undress her.

City of Darwin Casuarina Library. Picture: Supplied.

Top End parents have expressed concern about their children’s safety after a teenager was allegedly dragged into a public toilet outside Casuarina Library by a stranger earlier this month, as the City of Darwin says they “welcome more police” in the area.
The incident, just a short distance from the Casuarina police station, first became public knowledge through an anonymous Facebook post in a Darwin Mums group by a family friend of the teen.

The post alleges that a young teen was dragged into the toilet on April 17 by a man wearing dress clothes, who then tried to undress her.

However NT Police were unable to confirm the incident, saying they did not have a report matching that description of events.

The teen managed to escape the man, but the story has rattled Darwin parents, who fear their child might be caught in a similar incident at the library, which sits across the road from a major bus interchange used by hundreds of Darwin students every day.

A concerned Darwin mother, who spoke to the NT News under the condition of anonymity, said she was scared for her daughter who frequents the interchange and library.

She said her family had only just moved back to the Territory in January, and on one of the early occasions of her 12-year-old daughter using Casuarina interchange, she was allegedly confronted with a man urinating in public.

The Casuarina Bus Complex. Picture: Glenn Campbell

“As parents, we don’t really have a choice on where our children get dropped off when it comes to the Casuarina depot,” she said.

“That is, unfortunately, the exchange point that our kids have to get off at to get onto their next bus to get home.”

The mother has taken measures to make sure her daughter is safe, even buying a GPS watch with a built in “SOS button”.

“When she gets dropped off at Casuarina, she goes inside now and she sits where everyone can sort of see her, and I say to her, ‘make sure you’re near security’.

“But it’s scary.

“There needs to be either a different drop-off point for school kids, or they need to have some sort of security presence there after school constantly.”

The City of Darwin, which owns Casuarina Library, said they had not received any notification of the incident other than the Facebook post.

“We are committed to providing a safe and pleasant space for our library users to enjoy,” a spokesperson said.

“Our library staff support patrons and we have CCTV in place within the library, we employ private security guards to patrol the library during business hours to ensure safety and security of patrons.”

The spokesperson said the City had made their security providers aware of the post, and that library staff are available to patrons with concerns related to safety within the library.

“We are aware of issues taking place nearby, particularly at the nearby Casuarina Bus Interchange, and we welcome more police presence in the area to address this behaviour.”

Originally published as Parents frightened: Teenage girl allegedly attacked near Casuarina interchange