“This harassment led to my mum withdrawing an offer on a house we were going to buy”

** Trigger warning **

I am 18 years old and attending sixth form. One day, as I left my college at about 4.45 p.m. I saw a young male (around 14) walking towards me. He said something but I couldn’t hear what, as I had earphones in. As we became level, he shoved my chest, slightly groping my breast as he did so, then kept walking. I turned round and gave him the middle finger, then continued on my way to the train station.

A couple of minutes later I could just about hear something behind me. I looked round, to see that he was following me and saying things. I kept listening to my music and walking, trying to ignore him, thinking he’s just a kid, I’m only 10 minutes away from the station, it’s still kind of light. I thought I was relatively safe.

When I stopped to cross a road, he caught up to me. I took out my earphones and asked him “Do you have a problem?” then walked off angrily. To my surprise he replied, “Yeah I do actually.”

I kept walking, only to be followed by him, repeating behind me, “Do you have a problem?” mimicking me.

My face burning, I walked on, him still behind me, talking. I ignored it as best I could.
At another crossing, he caught up to me again. I sarcastically asked him, “Are you going to follow me all the way home?” knowing my mum would be at the train station to pick me up, along with my sister whose train was arriving in 5 minutes.

His reply made me shudder, especially coming from someone so young, “Yeah, I’m gonna rape you.”

I didn’t know how to respond, but now being just two minutes’ walk away from the train station I decided to walk on.

He followed me still. As I approached the train station I felt him hit the back of my head – not hard, more to get my attention, so I decided not to indulge him and just kept walking.

Unfortunately this was a mistake.

I entered the carpark of the train station and he shoved me hard, causing me to fall onto a parked car to my left. I got up and he kicked me in the leg so I tried to hit him back but he mostly deflected it. Though he was slightly shorter than me (I’m very short at 5’1″ but was wearing shoes with a slight heel), he was bigger. I managed to walk on a few more steps, knowing that just around the corner, at the far end of the carpark, was my mum. However he pushed me again, this time against the back of a van. He held me there and tried to kiss me, but I managed to get free. He held onto my arm as I walked away but (to my surprise) I was slightly stronger and pulled him along a little, before pulling free and walking very quickly down to my mum’s car.

I collapsed into the car and told my mum what had happened. The boy actually walked past my car and looked in at me for about a minute, before walking onto the train platform and out of sight.

At first I was too shaken up to do anything but I called my boyfriend and he convinced me to call the police.

I told the local police what had happened and they sent an officer over to my house. She took a statement from me, and also took the clothes I was wearing as he had touched me so there may be trace DNA.

An investigation was launched and it turned out that someone matching the description I gave had been harassing multiple other girls from my college, and some of them had come forward and given statements too.

This was just over a month ago, and last week I was asked to do an ID parade. Unfortunately, it was so long ago and he had been wearing a hat, and I was unable to identify him in the ID parade. The good news is that some of the other girls apparently were.

Hopefully they will catch him, as he has been repeatedly making girls in my area feel uncomfortable and unsafe.

This harassment led to my mum withdrawing an offer on a house we were going to buy – thankfully – as it was on the road that this boy is suspected to live on. The idea of living there terrified me, and luckily we have now bought a house on the nicer side of the town.

The incident unsettled me as it occurred on a route I take almost every day at the same time, and I hope I don’t encounter him again – it worries me every time I walk that way.

The most worrying thing is that this was someone around the age of 14, perhaps even younger. Still a child. If they don’t catch him now, I worry what will happen when he is older – bigger and stronger, and actually able to carry out his threats of rape.

– Milly

Location: Wellington, Telford, England

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