The mother of a 13-year-old west Belfast girl sexually assaulted as she made her way home after a birthday celebration with friends has described the attacker as “an animal”.
The woman spoke out after police confirmed they are investigating a “possible link” between the incident in the Lenadoon area on Wednesday and reports of a separate sexual on a teenager in the Lagmore area the same evening.
The young girl, who turned 13 on Wednesday, was returning home with friends when they were approached by a man close to a derelict property in the Upper Suffolk Road.
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.
She told how the man was “hovering over” her daughter and “shining a phone on her, blinding her with his torch”.
She described how her daughter “started to fight back” while her friends “made a scene” forcing the attacker to flee.
The woman said her daughter is still trying to process what happened.
“She just seems really, really shocked, like it hasn’t actually hit her,” she said.
The woman said she was speaking out to warn other parents to be “extra vigilant” and “make them aware of the dangers in their own street”.
Describing the attacker as “an animal, a monster”, the woman said the incident had left her feeling “angry and devastated.”
“It’s just the thought that your kids at that age can’t walk home. It makes you ask why is he feeling so comfortable, especially when they are with their friends, to just jump out behind them or follow them, or touch them, or do anything to them?”
The victim’s mother said she is taking a cautious approach over her young daughter’s movements until the attacker is caught.
The victim’s uncle, who is a youth and community worker, said he doesn’t want anyone in the area feeling unsafe.
“Working in the job I work in, having kids with me and around me every evening, I don’t want any parent or any young person not to feel safe to leave their own community on the pretense they could be attacked in a residential area at half eight at night when it’s relatively still early and busy,” he said.
Glen Community Parent Youth Group and Lenadoon Women’s Group, have also urged parents and young people in the area to be vigilant.
Community groups ae also expected to meet with Housing Executive officials over concerns about the derelict property close to where the assault took place.
Meanwhile, police say they are investigating a “possible link” between the Lenadoon attack and a sexual assault in nearby Lagmore estate,
Police say two teenage girls were approached by a man as they walked along Lagmore Avenue at around 11pm on Wednesday.
“He pulled at the clothing of one of the girls before making off on foot towards a wooded area leaving both girls badly shaken,” a PSNI spokeswoman said.
“The man is described as being around 6ft tall, of average build and was wearing a black coat with the hood up and white shoes.”
