Auckland City Police want to hear from anyone who visited, walked or ran up Mt Wellington on a Sunday morning two weeks ago, after a woman was indecently assaulted.
Between 9.30am and 10am on Sunday 3 July the victim walked up to the Mt Wellington summit. As she made her way back down the mountain, a man (who is believed to have parked his light coloured van at the top) followed her. He then urinated in front of the woman and then grabbed her, indecently assaulting her.
She managed to fight him off and he fled. Police believe he ran back to his van at the summit and then drove away.
A member of the public noticed the upset woman and called Police. A number of Police cars went to the scene immediately and conducted a search of the wider area, but the man was not found.
Police have made a number of enquiries in the past two weeks, but the offender has not yet been identified and located.
“Mt Wellington is a reasonably busy place on a Sunday morning, lots of people walk and run up there at that time and often take selfies or photos at the top. We’d like to hear from anyone who was there around the time that this occurred, particularly anyone who took photos, to get in touch with us please” says Detective Keri Kimpton, Auckland City Police.
Police do not believe the incident is linked to the ongoing investigation of indecent assaults against women in Onehunga.
The offender is described as the following;
-Aged 25-30 years old.
-Maori or Pacific Islander.
-Was wearing shorts.
-About 170-172 cm tall.
-Dark/black curly hair, about collar length.
-Slight moustache and stubble on cheeks.
“Any incident like this is alarming and we are obviously very keen to catch this person. We’d also like to hear from anyone who has seen someone of that description behaving suspiciously at another time on Mt Wellington” says Detective Kimpton.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Detective Keri Kimpton on 09 524 1921.
Information can also be given anonymously to the organisation Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
ENDS
Beth Bates/NZ Police