A man on a bike is wanted over an attack on an “exceptionally brave” jogger on Dandenong Creek Trail last month.
Sexual Crimes Squad detectives are holding an information caravan in Dandenong North this afternoon (14 February) as part of the investigation.
They have released footage of a man they are hoping to identify.
A woman was running along the trail, near Outlook Drive just north of Mercer Court, when an unknown man approached her about 3pm on 31 January, police say.
She was running in a southerly direction on the trail when she first saw the man on a bicycle.
After turning around shortly after to start running north, the same man allegedly approached her from behind and threw her to the ground.
The man lay on top of her and attempted to remove her clothing, however the woman screamed and successfully fought him off.
He jumped on his bike and took off south towards Tirhatuan Park.
“This is a concerning attack on a woman who was simply going for a run through her local park,” Detective Senior Sergeant Glyn Woolley said.
“She has been exceptionally brave and managed to fight him off before contacting police.”
The alleged attacker is described as being possibly in his late teens or early 20s, of a thin build and with an olive complexion, potentially of Indian or sub-continental appearance.
He was wearing a grey T-shirt, dark coloured pants, slides and socks at the time.
Det Sen Sgt Woolley said detectives had canvassed a significant amount of CCTV in the area.
Local police had also patrolled the park to attempt to find the man in recent weeks.
He said detectives were treating the incident as an “isolated attack”.
“We have no reason at this stage to believe the attack was targeted nor have we found any similar incidents occurring in this area over the past few months.
“Hopefully by holding this information caravan and releasing this footage today, this will provide us with new lines of enquiry.”
The information caravan is open on the corner of Police Road and the Dandenong Creek trail from 1pm today.
The Mounted Branch will also conduct patrols in the area.
Any information to Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or www.crimestoppersvic.com.au
