By NOEL MURPHY
A MAN who menaced joggers and children after emerging from a toilet at Eastern Beach may have been off his medication, according to witnesses.
East Geelong’s Paul Monk said the man was abusive, physically and verbally threatening. He was concerned the man had been loitering inside the Eastern Beach toilets while children were on school holidays.
“I was jogging with my brother and his wife and their five-year-old on a bike and three-year-old in a pram when he came out of the toilets at us, swearing and talking about ‘mind rape’ and strange stuff,” Mr Monk told the Independent.
“He started walking behind us while we were jogging but after about 100 metres he was talking louder and louder. Then he charged at us.
“My brother and I told him to stop because we had kids and he was scaring them. He said something about his childhood being ‘f….d up’. We said ‘Mate you’re scaring the kids, we’re going for run, leave it’ and we kept running up to the Eastern Beach car park.
“He kept talking and walking behind us, when we stopped again he had a black bag and was reaching into it. I was thinking I hope there’s not something in there. We told him we were ringing the cops and he got very angry.”
Mr Monk described the man as 182cm tall with dark hair and wearing a dark blue jumper and jeans. He said he appeared to have been “off his meds” or “perhaps just out of jail”.
“My real worry was he was coming out of toilet, how long had he been hanging about in there …
EPA staff conducting research at Eastern beach also reported the man to police.
Regional manager Eve Graham said workers reported a man yelling, abusing and harassing people along the waterfront.
Police attended the scene but were unable to find any sign of the offender. They asked anyone else with information to contact Geelong Police on 5225 3100.
