blind eyes to horror

Hamish Heard
Revellers walked within metres of a young woman as she was brutally raped in central Geelong, police have revealed.
Melbourne Sexual Crimes Squad Acting Senior Sergeant Andrew Kerr said surveillance footage showed people walking on the opposite side of Little Malop Street Mall during the horrific attack.
The 22-year-old victim yesterday remained in hospital after undergoing emergency surgery to treat serious internal and external injuries from the attack at 2.20am last Friday.
“We believe at least three people walked past at the time of the assault,” Sen Sgt Kerr said.
“You can see from the footage there’s definitely movement on the other side of Little Malop Street.”
Police had spoken to a witness who saw the attack but did not intervene because they thought it was a domestic altercation.
“If anyone else has witnessed what they believed to be a domestic incident in the mall at around that time we need to speak to those people to see what they can tell us,” Sen Sgt Kerr said.
Police have set up an information caravan in the mall in the hope of finding information leading to identification of the attacker and a possible accomplice.
Police said the victim left her friends at Eureka Sports Saloon Bar around 2am on Friday to get money from an ATM in Moorabool Street.
A man in his early to mid-20s approached the woman as she used a St George ATM and forced her to walk to the mall.
Sexual Crimes Squad Inspector Tony Cecchin said the woman was then “frog marched” to an alcove opposite Union Street where she was raped for several minutes before her attacker fled.
“She has undergone a terrible ordeal and it will take some time before she recovers both mentally and physically,” he said.
The scene of the attack was littered with blood-soaked clothing, personal effects and pools of blood as forensic investigators pieced together the incident last week.
Police released pictures this week showing a man described as 20 to 25 years, 175 to 180 centimetres and Caucasian, with short wavy dark hair.
He was wearing a dark T-shirt with a white print on the front, blue denim jeans and white shoes.
Police were also seeking a man described as muscular with spiky blond hair and wearing a pale blue T-shirt.
Anyone with information about the attack should call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.