An Algerian woman and her one-year-old baby were sexually assaulted in broad daylight in Glasgow in a racially aggravated attack.
The 33-year-old woman was pushing her son in his pram through the Yoker area of the city when a group of young men threw stones at them and kicked the woman. One man then exposed himself, indecently assaulted the woman and attempted to perform an indecent act on the one-year-old boy.
The woman, who cannot be identified, had her headscarf torn from her head. She escaped by snatching her son from his pram and running away, leaving behind the pram, headscarf and a baby’s bottle.
She took her son to hospital and he was released later that day. Her son was assaulted but she rescued him before the man could commit any sexual act.
Police are appealing for the young men involved to come forward and identify the man who committed the assault. The suspect is described as a white male, aged 20 to 25, with very short hair, who is tall and thin. He was wearing white and blue track suit trousers.
The indecent assault took place at 4.30pm on Tuesday, April 3. It is thought that the woman took a week to report the incident to the police because she was so traumatised. The woman, who is an asylum seeker, was walking along the cycle path between Plean Street and Dyke Road in Yoker when the assault took place. The area is remote although there are houses at either end of the route.
Detective Inspector Andy McWilliam said: “There appears to be a racial element to the assault. We want the young men who were not involved in this part of the assault to identify this individual. I would like to think that these people would be so disgusted by this incident that they would come forward.
“The one-year-old baby was assaulted but there was no sexual act committed against him.
“This was a particularly harrowing ordeal for the woman and her son. I would urge the other males in this group to assist the police in identifying the male responsible. I am also keen to locate the pram, headscarf and baby’s bottle.
“This is a very diverse community with residents from a range of different countries and backgrounds but there have not been any particular problems in relation to integration.”