'This can't go on': Mother appeals over daughter's attempted abduction
Police are investigating incidents in Kilburn and Kentish Town - Credit: Archant
The mother of a 14-year-old girl who was victim of a reported attempted abduction has urged teenagers to step forward if they experience similar crimes.
The 48-year-old, who asked not to be named, said her daughter’s case was another “constant reminder of the dangers that girls and women face every day”.
The mum’s 14-year-old daughter was walking home from school in Messina Avenue, Kilburn, at around 3.45pm last Thursday (March 18) when a man tried to persuade her to get in his car, despite the girl “very clearly saying no”.
Police have connected the incident to another in Lady Margaret Road in Kentish Town.
The mother said teenagers “should be able to walk down a perfectly ordinary residential road and not be fearful”.
Describing the incident, she told this newspaper: “She phoned me straight away and was crying. Luckily my husband was at home. He ran to where she was and walked her home.
The 14-year--old was walking home in Messina Avenue - Credit: Google
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“She was very shaken but now she's very determined for other teenage girls to be aware and for it to not happen to them, and for the guy to be caught.”
The mother said crimes against women “happen all the time” and that there is a responsibility “on all of us” to report incidents.
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She continued: “My message to the wider public is that we all need to look out for each other, whether that means keeping an eye on girls and women when we’re out and about, being observant as to what’s going on around us, and calling out bad behaviour when we see it.
“I’m so grateful to the man who did that for my daughter. We need to behave as a community to look after girls and women so that they can walk the streets with some confidence, and to help girls be as safe as they can without having to be locked up”.
Police have asked the public to come forward - Credit: Archant
Police last week appealed for witnesses, saying the driver was male, possibly Asian or Middle Eastern in appearance. The force said he spoke with a British accent and had a scruffy black beard.
Anyone with information should call police on 101 or tweet @MetCC quoting CAD4800/16MAR.
Alternatively contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or by visiting https://crimestoppers-uk.org/
