Northern Territory Police allege a 35-year-old woman was sexually assaulted at knifepoint after being pulled off her bike in the early hours of Friday morning.
Sex Crimes Detective Acting Senior Sergeant Kirsten Engels said details were still scarce, and officers were keen to speak to a man who allegedly intervened in the incident and any other potential witnesses to the incident.
"It's alleged that approximately 5:00am this morning, a female was riding her bicycle along the bike path in the Rapid Creek area and she was approached by a male, who pulled her to the ground and threatened her with a knife before sexually assaulting her," Senior Sergeant Engels said.
"At that point, another male intervened, that resulted in the alleged offender running off in the direction of the Rapid Creek footbridge.
"The alleged offender is described as of Indigenous appearance, 25-30 years old, 170cm tall, short black hair wearing a sports style singlet with multi-colours on parts of it and dark coloured shorts."
Rapid Creek is a 15 minute drive north of Darwin and has a population of about 3,000 people.
An ongoing investigation
Senior Sergeant Engels said detectives would like to speak with anyone with any information about the incident.
She urged the man who broke up the alleged assault to contact NT Police, as well as another man who rode past the scene just prior to the incident.
"Police would also like to take the opportunity to remind the community to be really vigilant in their personal safety," Senior Sergeant Engels said.
"Especially in the hours of darkness and if they are on their own.
"They need to maintain an ability to see and hear what is going on around them."
Senior Sergeant Engels said the 35-year-old woman was "not physically harmed".
"Police got there very soon after the event occurred," she said.
"Our main focus is getting all the information we can."
Anyone who witnessed the incident or has any information is urged to notify police on 131444 or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
NT's sexual assault rates
Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows the NT has the highest rate of sexual assaults in the nation.
In 2018, there were 145.6 reports of sexual assault to the NT Police per 100,000 people — higher than every other state and territory.
Australia-wide, there were 105.3 reports of sexual assault to police per 100,000 people in 2018.
