A young woman was left terrified after a man began "pleasuring himself" and "panting" next to her on a Dublin Bus.
Sorcha was coming home from her job as a social worker on the 83a just before 11pm. The 25-year-old was replying to texts she had missed during work when she heard the sound of a man panting.
She told Dublin Live: "I heard a man panting and glanced to the seat parallel to me to see a man pleasuring himself while staring at me. He was trying to make sure I could see him and notice what he was doing.
Read more: Dublin Bus drivers 'afraid of getting attacked' as grim stats revealed
"I noticed that I was the only one sitting upstairs with him and quickly got up and went downstairs and tried to act normal. I didn't want him to see that I was scared or that I even noticed him.
She added: "I sat downstairs by the door and he followed me down after a minute and stood by the door and then got off at the next stop. I then got off at my usual stop and ran home."
The horrific experience left Sorcha feeling "extremely violated".
She said: "I felt extremely violated and as though he was getting off on me being uncomfortable. I was terrified and wanted to leave the situation immediately before he got up and sat on the seat beside me."
Sorcha shared the terrifying experience on social media and was shocked by how many women had similar experiences. She said: "At the moment, I haven't reported it to the Gardai, I would like to but I'm scared to and also about 30 women have DMed me after my tweet went viral saying that the same thing happened to them."
Four of the women that messaged Sorcha said the same thing happened to them on the same route. Dublin Bus told Dublin Live an investigation had been launched.
A spokesman said: "Dublin Bus are aware of the incident. I can confirm that a full investigation is underway."
Dublin Live previously revealed that a whopping 3,344 anti-social behaviour incidents were reported by bus drivers since 2017. There were also 429 assaults on bus drivers and another 429 assaults on passengers.
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