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Allegations of Sexual
Abuse in NZ |
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Three News
Anyone with information on the
latest attack should call Paihia police on (09) 402 6102 A barefoot sex attacker with an
American accent was still on the loose in Northland today as police tried to
speak to his anguished victim. The English tourist was sexually
assaulted as she walked between the Waitangi Treaty House grounds and the
Haruru Falls carpark about 5.30pm on Wednesday. Police said she was extremely
traumatised by the incident and her emotional state was slowing the inquiry. The attacker dragged his
27-year-old victim from the track and sexually assaulted her. It was a short
distance from where a Dutch couple was viciously assaulted almost two years
ago. The attacker was described as a
European male in his mid to late 30s with short dark brown hair. He had a
large ring on his right hand, wore blue jeans, a navy blue t-shirt with a
white circular pattern on the front and carried a full backpack. He was barefoot and spoke with an
American accent. Paihia police appealed to anyone
with information about the man or the attack to come forward. The attack on the Dutch
honeymooning couple in November, 2006, shocked the nation. Career criminal Keith Anthony
McEwen, 30, and Christopher Mana Manuel, 27 disguised themselves as police
officers and forced their way into the sleeping couple's campervan. The victims were tied up and
McEwen sexually violated the woman before the pair were driven to an ATM
machine and forced to withdraw money. They were later dumped on the roadside
before knocking on the door of a local resident to raise the alarm. McEwen was sentenced to preventive
detention and will serve at least 10 years while Manuel was sentenced to nine
years and must serve six before he can apply for parole. In January last year a German
tourist, 43, was raped at Raglan by a man with a knife the day before she was
due to end her holiday and return to Germany. Her attacker was in his 30s or
early 40s, about 170cm tall with an athletic build and olive skin. Anyone with information on the
latest attack should call Paihia police on (09) 402 6102. |
