Man assaults girl at park, victim strikes him and escapes

CHESTERFIELD, VA (WWBT) - Chesterfield Police are on high alert after a 14-year-old girl was attacked at Ettrick Park on Friday.

Police say the girl was running on a trail in the park sometime between 4 p.m. and 4:25 p.m. when the suspect grabbed her from behind and pulled her to the ground. She managed to get away by striking the man. The suspect then ran off along Laurel Road towards Dupuy Road.

Police released the following description of the suspect: "a black male in his mid-40s with a dark complexion and a grey, patchy beard. He was wearing a black beanie, a navy blue zip-up hooded sweatshirt and dirty blue jeans. In general, the suspect's appearance was dirty and ragged."

Call Crime Solvers at 804-748-0660 if you have any information that can help.

NBC12's public safety expert Mike Jones says if you listen to music, keep it soft so you can hear someone running up behind you. He also recommends carrying a water bottle, hair spray, or pepper spray - anything to use against an attacker to get away. And once you've escaped:

"Run, run, scream, be loud. Criminals don't like attention, so the louder you can be - and you can scream 'gun' even if that person doesn't have a gun, because you'll get people's attention and they'll turn their heads and see that person. He does not want to be identified," said Jones.

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