Australian Tourist Attacked in Nelson

Source: Stuff

Police are hunting for a sex attacker who assaulted an Australian tourist walking along a roadside in Nelson, South Island.

The woman had been in NZ with a tour group and had decided to walk from Tahunanui to central Nelson to buy souvenirs when the man dragged her into undergrowth near Auckland Point school.

Her screams were heard by the occupants of a passing car who came to her aid and chased the offender who has yet to be found by police. He was described as having light olive skin, and being about 180cm tall and of medium build, in his early 40s, with greying hair, stubble, bad body and breath odour.

Police have released a CCTV video of the alleged attacker:



The assault comes days after the rape and robbery of a young Dutch backpacking couple at a campsite in South Island and is part of a rising trend of violent crime in NZ.

Also in the news was the arrest of three men for the gang rape of a woman in Matamata last Friday, her nationality is not known at this stage.

On the same day residents of the small town were incensed when a 16 year old youth, out on bail for aggravated robbery despite police objections, raped a 15 year old girl within hours of his release.

NZ First MP Ron Mark commented "When is the Youth Court going to take victims into account instead of worrying about the sensibilities of vicious young mongrels?

To bail him to his home, where his family obviously doesn't give a damn and from where he already absconded at the weekend to allegedly commit rape, borders on the insane."

Matamata-Piako District Mayor Hugh Vercoe said the bail -rape issue was "extremely frustrating, Matamata is a good little town, it does not have a lot of crime and is a very tight-knit sort of place."

Perhaps he would like to reconsider that statement in the light of recent events.