A string of indecent assaults on public transport in Sydney has led the police to issue an urgent warning to women and girls.
Detectives arrested one man yesterday and released pictures earlier today of three others they want to question in a public appeal for information.
The assaults on teenage women and girls are reported to have taken place in different suburbs of Sydney’s West, Inner West, North and on the Central Coast, over the past few months.
Officers working under Operation Artemis said a victim in one incident had taken a picture of her alleged attacker.
Detective Superintendent Brad Monk, Commander of the Public Transport System North West Sector, said: “It is unacceptable that people going about their day-to-day lives are subject to such cowardly acts.
“We remind the public who have been subject to assault on public transport that any information you provide to police will be treated with the strictest of confidence, and our inquiries will be extensive.”
He added that officers are constantly patrolling and watching the public transport system and would ‘make no apologies for getting in the face of people they believe are committing crimes’.
Operation Artemis is an ongoing strategy under the Police Transport Command which works on preventing and investigating assaults on public transport.
Yesterday police arrested a 53-year-old man at a home in Glebe, and charged him with performing sexual acts in front of passengers on two separate occasions.
The first occurred on a train from Hornsby to Strathfield about 5pm on 25 April this year and the second on a Wyee to Fassifern service about 2.30pm on 22 June.
The man is due to appear in Newtown Local Court today after he was refused police bail.
This morning detectives released pictures of three other men suspected of indecent attacks on separate occasions.
The photograph of one man was taken by a 19-year-old woman after the alleged assault on a train travelling to Auburn from St James around 6pm on 17 August last year. The man (pictured below) is described as Indian in appearance, about 165cm tall and aged in his late 20s or early 30s. He is seen to have short dark hair, a beard and was wearing a grey hooded jacket, navy pants, bright blue shoes, and a navy backpack.
The second attack took place about 1.50pm on 3 March this year, when an 18-year-old woman was attacked on a bus travelling from Parramatta to Baulkam Hills.
Her alleged attacker (pictured below) was described as of Indian appearance and aged in his late 20s, with short dark hair and facial hair. He wore a short-sleeve navy collared shirt, blue jeans and grey shoes.
The third and most recent attack on 30 May was on a 14-year-old girl taking a bus from Blackwood to Glenwood, in the Hills Shire. The attacker is described as a medium-built man with a Mediterranean or Middle Eastern appearance. He was wearing a beige collared jumper, dark pants and a hat.
Police have appealed the public to help identify the men in the pictures.
If you have any information, contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000, or visit https://nsw.crimestoppers.com.au/.
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