A dog walker in Australia has spoken out after a man allegedly tried to force her into a tunnel to sexually assault her and also grabbed her friend by the neck.
The incident took place on Tuesday in Kooyong, a suburb in southeast Melbourne.
An unidentified man reportedly leapt out of a bush as two women were walking their eight dogs together.
He allegedly grabbed one of the women.
“He lunged for my friend and grabbed a hold of her neck and upper shoulders,” the woman told 9News.
“Then he started walking over to me and talking and threatening me to get me into the tunnel, and he wanted to have 𝒔𝒆𝒙 with me.”
Police are now hunting for the man.
His alleged attempts to sexually assault the two women were thwarted by a loyal paw patrol of dogs.
The heroic dogs ran after the man as he made his escape.
Footage of the chase was shared online.
The unidentified man was seen wearing a blue backpack as the dogs defended the women.
“I was thinking of all the different scenarios that could happen, but I was more trying to jump into action rather than focus on how scared I was,” the woman said.
“I’m just going to have to be a little bit more cautious, I mean, I always have been anyway as a female.
“You always have to be alert. I’m not going to let it stop me from coming to the park that I enjoy so much, and the dogs enjoy.”
Victoria Police have released an image with the man’s likeness.
They hope the public can help track him down.
The suspect is described as “of African appearance wearing black tracksuit pants, white socks, slides, a black and gray hooded top and a black face covering.”
He was also carrying a large, bright blue backpack, as captured in the footage.
Police said the incident has sparked a criminal investigation.
According to authorities, an “unknown male jumped out of a bush and put his arms around” one of the women before she “managed to push him away.”
“The victims’ dogs then chased the male into a nearby tunnel under the Monash Freeway.”
Footage of the incident filmed by one of the women shows a man wearing a gray hoodie and a blue backpack.
He is being chased by at least six dogs of various breeds, sizes, and levels of aggression.
At one point, a small blue heeler jumps up and latches onto the man’s pants, tearing a piece of fabric away.
