THE SUSPECT in Monday morning's assault and attempted abduction was identified in part thanks to the victim's quick thinking.
The victim, a woman in her 60's, was forced into the boot of her attacker's car but managed to grab a child's coat from inside before she escaped, according to The Irish Examiner.
The married mother of four was walking in the Blackhorse Avenue area of Dublin 7 at approximately 7.30am on 6 January when she passed a car with its boot open.
A man approached her and forced her into the boot but could not close the door as the woman's legs were hanging out. She was then pulled from the boot after grabbing the child's jacket, and the attacker then allegedly tried to force her into a passenger seat.
The woman succeeded in fighting her attacker, and when a passing car came to a stop the assailant drove off. The victim was able to keep hold of the child's jacket throughout the struggle.
She was able to give a description of the attacker, the car and a partial vehicle license plate number, which aided gardaí in narrowing down the search for the assailant.
Gardaí used a series of information-gathering checkpoints close to where the attempted abduction ocurred (An Garda Síochána)The suspect, whose car and appearance matched the victim's description, was arrested yesterday following the discovery of similar children's clothing in the boot of his car.
The Irish Examiner reports that the suspect is known to gardaí for minor crimes such as petty theft, with sources telling the outlet that the attempted abduction was "completely random" and he may have "got a notion" to abduct a woman after a night of heavy drug taking.
The a man, a 20-year-old father of one, was being detained at Blanchardstown Garda Station under suspicion of false imprisonment.
DNA evidence from the child's coat, the woman's nails and clothes as well as from the suspect's car was taken for testing, however due to the long period of time in which it will take for the results to come back, the suspect's detention period was up this morning and he was released.
A file is currently being prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions.
