Friday, May 04, 2007

DAR AL HARB - AUSTRALIA: MOHAMAD CHKHAIDEM CHARGED WITH INDECENT ASSAULT & STALKING

Teenager charged over breastfeed assault
By Simon Mossman and Jamie Duncan

A TEENAGER will appear in a Victorian court today charged with indecently assaulting a woman feeding her newborn baby in a change room at a Melbourne shopping centre.

Mother-of-three Janelle, who did not give her surname, told police she was breastfeeding her one-week-old son about 3.45pm (AEST) last Monday in a curtained-off area of the family room at Broadmeadows Shopping Centre, when the alleged attack happened.

The 37-year-old, from Romsey, northwest of Melbourne, told police that a man pulled back the privacy curtain claiming to be looking for his sister before asking personal questions about breastfeeding.

Janelle said she tensed up and when her baby came off the breast, the intruder leant forward and touched her before leaving.

Broadmeadows detectives tonight charged 18-year-old Broadmeadows man Mohamed Chkhaidem with one count of indecent assault and four counts of stalking in an out-of-sessions hearing before a bail justice at Broadmeadows police station this evening.

...

Earlier, the mother called for better safety measures in shopping centre changerooms.

“In a feeding room doing something natural, feeding your own child, you should be able to do (it) in privacy and peace,” she said.

“Maybe it's a silly extreme to go to but (what) we might need to look at doing is having a panic alarm in the rooms or proper locked cubicles like toilets, rather than the curtain - but we shouldn't have to go to that extreme.”



Hat Tip:

The Religion of Peace


Pertinent Links:

1) Teenager charged over breastfeed assault

No comments: