A teenage boy had disengaged from his studies and was skipping class before he allegedly sexually assaulted a woman while she was on a run, a court has been told.
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The 16-year-old, who cannot be identified, faced a children’s court on Monday and was denied bail after being charged with several offences including rape, stalking, false imprisonment, assault and recklessly causing injury.
A 16-year-old boy has been accused of sexually assaulting a woman in Melbourne’s northern suburbs.Credit: Daniel Pockett
A woman was running along a path in Jacana, in Melbourne’s north, on August 14 when the boy allegedly ambushed her from behind, threw her to the ground and sexually assaulted her.
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She managed to escape and ran to a car park, where two passers-by helped her and called police.
DNA evidence taken from the woman’s clothes and body was forensically tested and matched the teen, the court heard on Monday.
The boy’s lawyer argued the teenager should be released on bail after spending six days on remand.
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“Given it’s his first time in custody, the salutary effect of that and the knowledge that if he commits offences and endangers the community he will return to custody,” the lawyer told the court.
“That weighs even further to deter him from reoffending.”
The boy’s mother said he had disengaged from his studies before the alleged offending, and she had tried to contact his school to ensure he could catch up, but did not receive a response.
