An Australian woman became so frustrated by a local sex pest she literally went ape.
Multiple women say they've had upsetting encounters with a male cyclist in Jeff Joseph Reserve in the Perth suburb of Applecross. It's alleged the man exposed his genitals to them while riding through the beachside park.
One anonymous local claims the man has confronted her multiple times in the park, usually remaining on his bike but sometimes dismounting and approaching her. She says she's spoken to other women who have had similar experiences with the alleged flasher.
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"I was really upset when I found out other women were feeling just as terrified as I was," she told PerthNow. "One woman I spoke to told me she was never going to go back to that park."
She decided to take matters into her own hands with a creative form of vigilante justice. Hiring a gorilla suit, police costume and handcuffs, she took on the alter ego of 'Cop Kong'.
The woman then spent three days patrolling the park, waiting for the notorious cyclist to show up in the knowledge that he wouldn't recognise her under her fluffy disguise.
She made posters featuring photos of herself in the gorilla outfit, which she taped to signposts around the park to notify residents that "Cop Kong is patrolling this area".
The signs also included empowering slogans like "Sex pest free zone" and "Every woman deserves to feel safe and shine".
Her hard work paid off on Thursday, when she spotted the culprit on his bike. She says he had pulled his shorts up around his waist so that his genitals were hanging out.
She called the police and followed the man on her own bike, relaying his description and exact location over the phone until officers could intercept him.
On Saturday (local time) police charged a 47-year-old Perth man with four counts of committing indecent acts in public. The alleged offending took place between May 2018 and last Thursday.
He will appear in court later in February.
A Western Australia Police Force spokesperson told PerthNow that "valuable information from the public" led to the man being charged, but did not specifically credit Cop Kong's investigative work.
Newshub.