CONTENT WARNING: This article discusses alleged sexual assault.
A 41-year-old man has been charged after allegedly sexually assaulting an elderly woman in Merrylands, Sydney’s west, earlier this week.
Police say the incident happened around 12:30pm on Tuesday, when the man, who was not known to the 83-year-old woman, offered to help carry her shopping trolley home near Charles Mance Reserve. Once they arrived at her house, the man allegedly assaulted her.
Detective Acting Superintendent Rachel Fawcett, from the NSW Police sex crimes squad, described the incident as “abhorrent behaviour”.
“At that location, in a place she should feel safe, she was sexually assaulted,” Fawcett told reporters on Wednesday afternoon, per the Sydney Morning Herald.
“The man has approached her, has gained her trust, and then he has broken that trust by breaking into her home and assaulting her,” Fawcett alleged.
After the alleged assault, the woman reported what happened to a neighbour, who then called police. She was taken to hospital for assessment, and a crime scene was set up at her home. Detectives launched Strike Force Bena to investigate the case.
Following a public appeal for information, officers arrested a 41-year-old man at a unit on Harris Street in Fairfield just after midday on Friday. He was taken to Fairfield Police Station and charged with sexual intercourse without consent and common assault.
The man has been refused bail and is set to appear at Parramatta Local Court today.
Help is available.
If you’re in distress, please call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or chat online. If it’s an emergency, please call 000.
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