A 16-year-old boy has been charged with the rape of a female jogger in Jacana

A woman in her 30s who was allegedly raped at a running track in Melbourne’s north was held in a choke hold so tight she struggled to breathe, a court has heard.

The running track near Jacana Reserve.

A young woman training for a marathon thought she was going to die when she was allegedly thrown to the ground and raped by a 16-year-old boy during a morning run.

The woman, in her 30s, is now too afraid to leave her house after the teenager – a complete stranger – allegedly stalked her before a terrifying daylight sex attack along the Broadmeadows Valley Trail on August 14.

A children’s court on Tuesday heard the woman’s lips turned blue after she was held “in a choke hold so tight she struggled to breathe” at Jacana Reserve in Melbourne’s north.

She told police she “believed she was going to die and a passer-by would find her body”.

The boy, who has no prior dealings with police, was denied bail in a children’s court on Tuesday after prosecutors said he’d gone from “zero to 100”, with his alleged offending leaving the “community as a whole” at risk.

“We don’t know what’s fuelled this, what prompted this, there’s no mental health, no cognitive impairment … (just a teenager who) chose to go outside and attack a member of the public,” the prosecutor told the court.

“The issue is this could happen to anyone at this park, at the train station he’s been loitering at, at the other park he’s been loitering at.”

The boy, who faces eight charges including rape, stalking and false imprisonment, was remanded in custody for a week until he could be assessed by youth justice.

The court heard the woman had run from Jacana to Meadow Heights and back along the trail on August 14 as the boy was captured on CCTV “continuously looking into the parkland area”.

When she finished her hour-long run about 11.30am, she took out her headphones and did a two-minute cool down before walking off, spotting the boy about 100m away.

Suddenly she heard footsteps and, looking over her shoulder, “saw him running at fast speed” with his hood over his head before she was put in a choke hold from behind.

Thrown to the ground, she “quickly realised he was not interested in robbing her” as she “pleaded (with him) to let go of her because she believed the accused was going to kill her,” the court heard.

After the attack, the boy was seen on CCTV catching a bus to Roxburgh Park as his alleged victim ran towards Jacana Football Club calling for help and phoned police.

A photo inadvertently taken on her phone as she called triple-0 showed a “blue hue” to her lips and red marks and scratches all up her neck.

The alleged victim “strongly opposed bail” with the prosecutor saying: “She’s terrified, essentially she’s been training for a half marathon and that’s been lost now, she can’t stay at home on her own.”

The boy’s defence lawyer said there was “always some risk in granting bail” but that his client was young with no priors, a stable home environment, a supportive father who had attended court and education and employment prospects.

But the magistrate said there was nothing before her to show the risk could be mitigated if he were released back into the community.

Her Honour said the alleged offending was “opportunistic, it was violent, it was in the middle of the day, it was random … it hasn’t been put to me why he hasn’t been at school”.

“It is concerning in my mind.”

Turning to the boy sitting in the dock, the magistrate told him the charges he faced were “incredibly serious, they’re some of the most serious charges we have in this court”.

“Your lawyers are asking me to let you out today, I just don’t know enough about you,” she said.

The boy was remanded and ordered to return to a children’s court on September 2.

Detectives on Tuesday executed a search warrant at a home where they took a 16-year-old boy into custody.

The boy was charged with rape, stalking, false imprisonment, common law assault, recklessly cause injury, detention for a sexual purpose and two counts of sexual assault.

CCTV footage shows the boy, wearing black clothes and white shoes, running on the nature strip moments prior to the alleged attack.

He was also seen walking on a footpath nearby after the incident and was pictured travelling on a bus.

Detective Inspector Mark Burnett from the Sexual Crimes Squad said he understood the community has been on edge since the “extremely concerning” alleged sex crime.

He said it appeared to be an “isolated incident” and there are no known connections between the alleged victim and her attacker.

“This is extremely concerning behaviour for Victoria Police and also the wider community,” he said on Friday.

“She is a very brave woman, we were especially impressed with the way she was able to assist police with our inquiries, provide a very accurate statement and the way she was able to fight and run from the scene.”

The boy will appear at a children’s court.