A man has allegedly threatened a woman with a meat cleaver and sexually assaulted her in a horrific attack at her Auburn unit.
A 26-year-old woman was inside her bedroom in a unit on Park Road, Auburn, when an unknown man burst in wielding a meat cleaver he had taken from her kitchen.
Police said the man then allegedly threatened the woman and sexually assaulted her about 6:35pm on Friday, November 25, before leaving the unit.
Addressing the media, Sex Crimes Squad Commander Detective Superintendent Jayne Doherty described the incident as a “horrendous” attack.
“On the evening of Friday the 25th of November, a 26-year-old female attended the Auburn police station to report that she had been sexually assaulted,” she said.
“[The male] assaulted her a number of times and hit her in the back of her head with the handle of the meat cleaver before he sexually assaulted her.”
Detectives from the Sex Crimes Squad commenced Strike Force Cinnibar to investigate those allegations. Following inquiries, the man was found already in custody at a correctional facility in Silverwater on an unrelated matter.
“Police investigated the allegations and identified a 37-year-old male from Zetland to be the offender,” she said.
“Earlier today, detectives from Sex Crimes attended a correctional centre in Silverwater where they arrested and are currently charging that male.”
Det Supt Doherty credits the victim’s swift action in coming forward in helping detectives to find and arrest the accused.
“These, thankfully, are very rare type of offenses but the fact that the victim has come forward so quickly in this matter has enabled us to ensure this person is arrested and will be before the courts so swiftly that he doesn’t have opportunities again for other victims,” she said.
“The basis of all investigations on sexual assaults come from the evidence of the victim, from that we can build our case.
“The earlier [victims] come forward the better chance we have at securing evidence.”
The male is currently in the charge process and will be charged with ‘two aggravated sexual assaults with threatening to inflict actual bodily harm’, ‘one inflict actual bodily harm with intent to have sexual intercourse’, ‘one sexually touching another person’ and ‘one aggravated sexual assault’.
As investigations continue, police are now calling on any members of the public who may have seen someone suspicious around the units to contact police.
The man is set to appear in court on Tuesday, November 29.
Ellie Busby is a news reporter for Western Sydney Publishing Group. A graduate of the University of Hertfordshire and Western Sydney University, she is a journalism Major. Ellie has worked with Universal Media, The Cova Project and for a range of other organisations. In 2024, Ellie was named Young Writer of the Year at the Mumbrella Publish Awards.