A 33-year-old British tourist was allegedly ambushed in the dark and groped by a cyclist while jogging on Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia.
Jenna Dollard was targeted from behind by a man riding a red bike during her early morning run along the popular beachfront on Thursday. Wearing headphones in the dark, she did not hear the suspect approach before the alleged assault occurred. She recounted, "Suddenly, I felt him grab me from behind. He grabbed my bum."
Despite being shocked, Jenna managed to record video footage of the cyclist as he fled down Bondi Road so she could provide it to law enforcement. Explaining her actions, she stated, "I need to have evidence of this guy for the police." The video shows the alleged offender turning around and shouting angrily at her while denying the accusations, yelling, "I did f***ing nothing to you, you dog."
The incident left her terrified and worried about the safety of women. "It just really scared me," she noted. "It's a violation, and you feel so scared at that moment because not only is it your personal space, but it's a violation." She added that she will now work out indoors at a Bondi gym instead of running outside.
Following her decision to share the video online, police tracked down and arrested the suspected attacker on Friday. Authorities took the 51-year-old man to Newtown Police Station, where they formally charged him with sexually touching another person without consent. He was denied bail and scheduled for a court appearance on Saturday.
The incident follows recent reports of tourist assaults globally, including a woman allegedly raped in a Majorcan nightclub toilet in Playa de Palma earlier this month, where a German man was arrested. In a separate case, 52-year-old British tourist Michelle Wilson reported being sexually assaulted by a parasail operator last summer.
