Mum Allegedly Sexually Assaulted in Sydney Pool While Holding Her Two Kids

A mother recounted the horror after she was groped at a swimming centre with her two young children.

Cassandra Sunners, 26, was in the whirlpool area at Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre with her seven-year-old son and two-year-old daughter last Sunday afternoon when the attacker allegedly assaulted her. She said she was holding her daughter while her son swam nearby.

In a Facebook post, she wrote that she felt a hand grab at her and believed it was her son reaching out, but the hand went underneath her swimsuit. She said that she screamed at her attacker and quickly alerted life guards as she gets her children out of the whirlpool.

“It took 3-5 seconds for a disgusting vile man to make me a victim, 3-5 seconds,” she wrote.

The security guards immediately apprehended the man and police were called. Mrs Sunners said she was informed that it is not the first time police have been called to the swimming centre after allegations of sexual assault in its whirlpool. In December 2013, seven teenage girls reported that they were assaulted by a 33-year-old man while swimming in the whirlpool, while in November 2014, four girls, aged 12 and 13, told parents they had been assaulted also while in the pool.

Mrs Sunner’s attacker was charged with sexual assault and indecent assault and released on conditional bail until his first court attendance.

Now, Mrs Sunners is urging the aquatic centre to close the whirlpool in the interests of stopping future assaults.

“Do not let your children in there. Don’t do it.

“No lifeguard or any person could have stopped the offender. Maybe a ‘enter at your own risk’ would be more suitable?

“Surely these incidents that are occurring specifically in the whirlpool can only happen so many times before something is done or changed?,” she wrote.

Meanwhile, the Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre has released a statement saying they are “working with police”.

“We are aware of the community’s concern regarding last weekend’s disturbing incident.

“We are working with NSW Police Force and have taken a number of measures to improve the safety of our visitors,” the statement reads.

Source: Essentialbaby.com.au