Witnesses have revealed chilling new details of an alleged sexual assault on seven-year-old girl who was snatched from her dance class.
A 54-year-old man was arrested after allegedly sexually assaulting the girl at the St George Dance Centre in Kogarah, south of Sydney, about 8pm on Thursday.
The alleged attack was thwarted by a parent, 46, from the dance class who heard a commotion and ran to help.
But the hero was allegedly stabbed by the man, who lashed out with a surgical scalpel – striking him in the in the abdomen and neck.
Witnesses said they heard ‘blood-curdling screams’, before they found the alleged attacker with his ‘pants halfway down’.
‘I heard this awful screaming like two adults fighting and then this really panicked yelling, ”call the police, call the police”, over and over,’ beauty salon owner Rachelle Yousse told news.com.au.
‘He was talking on the phone and walking and I said ”you have to sit down you have blood coming out”. I got Chux superwipes for the bleeding.
‘He sat and then he just laid down in shock. He was overwhelmed.’
A 46-year-old man has been stabbed after rushing to the aid of a young girl who was allegedly being sexually assaulted by another man, 54, in the toilets of a dance studio in Sydney’s south
Mo Hariri, a witness who was celebrating his 24th birthday in a courtyard nearby, revealed that moments after the Good Samaritan was stabbed, a man ran out onto the street and screamed for help.
A group of bystanders rushed to his aid and also helped detain the alleged offender until police swarmed the dance studio.
‘Someone came out and yelled: ‘Call the police he’s trying to kill him’,’ Mo Hariri said.
In the hectic moments that followed, the group of revellers heard another man at the scene scream: ‘Where is my daughter?’
The stabbing victim then stumbled down the stairs from the first floor dance studio and collapsed on the street, where a friend of Mr Hariri’s performed CPR and applied pressure to his wounds.
Mr Hariri said he was alerted to the commotion after an eruption of noise came from across the road but he initially thought someone was having a heart attack, the Daily Telegraph reported.
According to a witness, Mo Hariri, the man was stapped with a scalpel suffering wounds to his stomach, arm and ear and neck area
The seven-year-old was allegedly attacked at the St George Dance Centre in Kogarah, south of Sydney, about 8pm on Thursday (pictured)
A dentist who worked in a clinic that shares the toilet with the dance studio was the first to discover the young girl and her alleged attacker.
The dentist reportedly entered the toilet block and stumbled across the man with the young girl.
Quickly realising what was going on, he began raining punches on the attacker.
Just moments later, the parent from the dance class also entered the toilet and joined in the scuffle and was allegedly stabbed multiple times.
The girl, the Good Samaritan and the attacker – a local man – were not known to each other
Police revealed on Friday the man who confronted the young girl’s alleged attacker was one of a number of parents who desperately searched for her after she went missing.
‘He was aware that the child could not be accounted for and was assisting others in locating her,’ NSW Police Superintendent Julian Griffiths said.
Supt Griffiths said the alleged attacker was expected to be question in coming days, but was currently under guard in hospital after being injured in the brawl.
The girl had been involved in one of the dance classes when she went to the toilet. Her family and other parents at the dance studio began to search for her after she failed to return
He also confirmed the alleged attacker was a local but not associated with the dance studio. He, the girl and the Good Samaritan were also not known to each other.
‘It appears to be a random, isolated incident,’ Supt Griffiths said.
‘[He] will not be in a position to assist police inquiries until early next week or when we receive medical advice to confirm he’s available to be spoken to.’
A dance teacher who works at the same studio said a contemporary dance class for teenage girls was regularly held at the centre on Thursday nights.
Local dance troupe ACTiv Elite Performers posted a message of support to the girl on Facebook.
Local dance troupe ACTiv Elite Performers posted a message of support to the girl on Facebook (pictured)
‘Our hearts go out to our friends at St George Dance Centre after hearing the news of this senseless and violent attack in our community,’ the troupe wrote.
‘Lots of love to the families, staff and children affected and to the brave man who intervened.’
The Good Samaritan was rushed to St George Hospital where he received stitches for his wounds and has since been discharged. The young girl went to Sydney Children’s Hospital for observation and has also been released. The alleged offender remains under guard in hospital.
Supt Griffiths said a strikeforce had been set up to investigate what he admitted was a ‘concerning’ matter.
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