Three men will appear in court on Tuesday after they allegedly assaulted two teenage girls amid Mardi Gras celebrations in Sydney over the weekend.
Emergency services were called to Pirrama Park, at Pyrmont, about 9.40pm on Saturday following reports of a group of people fighting.
Phone footage of an incident on Saturday night shows a man dragging a teenage girl by her hair.Credit:2GB
Police said they were told there was an argument among a group of revellers before two 16-year-old girls in the group were allegedly repeatedly assaulted by three men.
Phone video footage of the incident, obtained by Ben Fordham Live, shows a number of people shoving each other within the group before things became more aggressive.
The footage shows one girl being pulled by the hair over a ledge in the park by a man, before being tackled to the ground. Others in the group attempt to pull the man off the girl.
“To say a cowardly act would be an understatement – I’ve never seen such disgraceful footage,” NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller told Ben Fordham on Monday morning, adding the incident was particularly shocking as it occurred relatively early in the evening.
“Someone’s 16-year-old daughters were out, and for them to be assaulted in such a way is appalling.”
Officers from Sydney City Police Area Command, with assistance from the Public Order and Riot Squad, attended the scene and arrested three men – aged 29, 23 and 21 – shortly afterwards, police said.
The men were taken to Day Street police station, where the two older men were charged with affray and two counts of common assault. The 21-year-old was charged with affray and common assault.
They appeared before Parramatta Bail Court on Sunday, where they were formally refused bail. They will appear before Central Local Court on Tuesday.
Mr Fuller thanked the member of the public who reported the incident to police.
Investigations into the incident are ongoing and anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers.
While some took to Sydney CBD to celebrate on Saturday night, the official annual Mardi Gras parade was held as a ticketed, seated event at the SCG , due to coronavirus restrictions.
Police arrested and fined a group of four revellers who entered the pitch during the parade about 8pm.
On Sunday, Mardi Gras 2021 Operation Commander, Assistant Commissioner Gelina Talbot, thanked the majority of attendees at the event for “celebrating peacefully and safely”.
“We knew Mardi Gras was going to look very different in 2021, so I’d like to thank the community for coming together today and celebrating peacefully and safely,” Assistant Commissioner Talbot said.
“We are in a unique position in Australia to be able to host events of this scale during a global health pandemic, and I commend the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras team for planning such a well-organised, COVID-safe event.”
Mary Ward is a health reporter at The Sydney Morning Herald.
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2021-03-07 20:46:40Z
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