A man left in hospital after a violent attack was spoken to and released by police over alleged comments made to a teenage girl.
The victim of the attack was questioned after it was reported that he made remarks to a teenage girl that made her feel “uncomfortable”.
Police say the attack took place in the Suffolk Road area at around 8pm on Sunday and came days after the attempted sexual assault of a 13-year-old girl in the area.
Footage has emerged of a man being led from a local business by police while another clip shows an injured man lying in the middle of a busy road.
Separate footage has also been circulated on social media showing a dark coloured car, which it is claimed had the back seats folded down and included “bed mattress with blankets”.
It is not known if the incidents are linked.
In a statement police said a “man was taken to hospital by police after he was assaulted by a number of men on Suffolk Road”.
“The male had earlier been spoken to by police after a separate report that he had made remarks to a teenage girl that made her uncomfortable,” a spokeswoman added.
“We are aware of speculation connecting this incident to recent reported approaches to women and attempted sexual assaults in the area however there is no evidence linking this occurrence to previous reports at present, and no arrests have been made.”
Sunday’s incident took place just days after an attempt was made to sexually assault a 13-year-old girl a short distance away at Upper Suffolk Road.
The victims mother told the Irish News last week that her daughter was returning from a birthday celebration with a friend when they were approached by a man close to a derelict property.
The schoolgirl’s mother said the attacker approached her daughter from behind and tried to pull at her trousers before pushing her to the ground.
The distraught mother later branded the attacker “an animal” and “a monster”.
Police later confirmed they are investigating a “possible link” between the incident and reports of a separate sexual assault on a teenager in the Lagmore area the same evening.
SDLP councillor Paul Doherty said: “I think the message is about reporting.
“We are only going to see action if someone is in fact engaging in some of this criminal activity which we have seen in regards to young people being involved, that need to report it,” he said.
“That’s the over arching message that we need to send to people, to have that awareness, to be vigilant, but also to go through the proper channels and report this to police.”
