A woman was allegedly attacked at Oak Hill, near the ACT-NSW border. Image: Google Maps.
CONTENT WARNING: This article refers to an alleged indecent assault.
Lawyers for a boy accused of grabbing a female runner from behind and choking her unconscious as she ran through the Canberra bush have indicated he will fight the charges.
ACT Policing previously said the 59-year-old woman was running down Oak Hill on the Centenary Trail in Bonner, near the ACT’s border with NSW, on the morning of 26 May when she was grabbed from behind.
Her alleged attacker, a 15-year-old boy, is said to have assaulted and choked her, which made her pass out for a short time.
When she tried to escape, he allegedly hit her in the head, knocking her to the ground then continued assaulting her before stealing her phone and running away.
The woman ran until she found another woman who called Triple Zero. She was taken to hospital where she was treated for minor injuries.
The boy was soon found and was charged with committing an act of indecency without consent, assault, choking and robbery.
He faced the ACT Children’s Court on Monday (23 June) over audio-visual link.
His defence lawyer said he would enter not guilty pleas to all of his client’s charges.
He said his team wanted to obtain a mental health report from an expert and flagged they may ask the court to dismiss the charges on mental health grounds.
However, Magistrate James Stewart said he thought it would be highly unlikely for the court to deal with the charges this way.
The magistrate entered the not guilty pleas, remanded the boy in custody and adjourned to August for a pre-hearing mention of the matter.
If this story has raised any concerns for you, 1800RESPECT, the national 24-hour sexual assault, family and domestic violence counselling line, can be contacted on 1800 737 732. Help and support are also available through the Canberra Rape Crisis Centre on 02 6247 2525, the Domestic Violence Crisis Service ACT 02 6280 0900, the Sexual Violence Legal Services on 6257 4377 and Lifeline on 13 11 14. In an emergency, call Triple Zero.
Straight into the wood chipper View