It is reported that a 27-year-old woman in Sydney was followed and attacked by a man after walking out of a railway station on Thursday afternoon.
On Thursday evening, at approximately quarter past six, a man allegedly followed a 27-year-old woman after she had left the Chester Hill Railway Station.
It is alleged that, as the woman was walking home a 23-year-old man who was following her had approached and placed his belt around the woman’s neck before pulling it towards himself.
The terrified woman turned and confronted the man before he fled the scene.
Footage has emerged depicting the perpetrator taking off the belt from around his pants as he closely follows behind the woman along a pathway.
NSW Police have said, “the woman turned around and confronted the man who ran west along Forshaw Avenue, and then south along Priam St”.
“The woman was not physically injured and made her way home where she notified police.”
The description of the perpetrator as depicted on the footage here, is about 170cm tall, medium build, short black hair and appears to be of Indian appearance.
Following extensive investigations by NSW Police, detectives have now arrested and charged a 23-year-old man from Chester Hill on Saturday.
The man appeared before the Parramatta weekend Bail Court on Sunday faced with charges of attempted kidnapping, common assault, stalk and intimidate, and sexual touching.
This comes following an alleged incident in Sydney’s Kingswood, when a 50-year-old woman was attacked by two men last week when she was walking home from Kingswood Station in the evening.
Police say that the woman was bashed, leaving the 50-year-old with serious facial injuries before she was robbed by the two men.
The two men stole her backpack which had her phone and wallet inside.
After reaching home, her partner immediately took her to the hospital for treatment.
Since then, police have continued their efforts in searching for the two perpetrators.
Law, Penalties & Defences for Kidnapping Charges in NSW
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There are three kinds of kidnapping charges in NSW, namely:
- The basic offence of kidnapping under section 86(1) Crimes Act 1900 (NSW).
- The aggravated offence of Kidnapping under section 86(2).
- The Specially aggravated offence of kidnapping under section 86(3).
For these offences, it is still a crime to attempt to do this, even if unsuccessful. The same maximum penalties apply.
As for the basic offence of kidnapping, it carries a maximum penalty of 14-years imprisonment.
There is a maximum penalty of 20-years jail for committing the aggravated version of kidnapping. Furthermore, there is a maximum sentence of 25-years imprisonment for committing the specially aggravated version of this offence.
A person can only be guilty of this crime if the police can prove beyond reasonable doubt each of the following elements in court:
- The accused person took or detained a person without consent; and
- The accused person did so with the intention of holding the person to ransom, or with the intention of committing a serious indictable offence, or with the intention of obtaining any other advantage.
The aggravated version of this offence is committed if in addition to proving the basic offence, the police are also able to prove that the accused person was in company of another or the victim sustains injuries in the form of actual bodily harm.
The specially aggravated version of this offence is committed if the in addition to the proving the basic offence, the police are also able to prove that the accused person was in company of another and the victim sustains actual bodily harm.
A ‘serious indictable offence’ is any crime carrying a maximum 5-years jail sentence in NSW. This can include, sexual assault, sexual touching offence, or stealing offences.