Autistic boy, eight, 'whipped with a lead' after his bicycle crashed into a man's dog
- An autistic boy has been allegedly whipped by a dog lead in a Wollongong park
- The eight-year-old crashed his bike into a man's dog who retaliated with strike
- Man escaped on foot with his border collier and is now wanted by police
- Shocked mother claims it 'shouldn't be happening to anyone, especially a child'
A young Wollongong boy with autism has allegedly been whipped by a dog owner after his bicycle collided with the man's border collie.
The eight-year-old has told police he was riding through Roy Johanson Park around 5pm on May 15 when he accidentally rode his bicycle into the man's dog.
According to the boy's mother, her son apologised for the mishap yet to his dismay was 'whipped across the back with the metal end of the lead.'
'Not only was this an extremely traumatic event but this has caused significant injury to my son,' the boy's mother wrote on Facebook describing the ordeal.
A young Wollongong boy with autism has allegedly been whipped by a dog owner after his bicycle collided with the man's border collie
The 8-year-old has told police he was riding through Roy Johanson Park around 5pm on May 15 when he accidentally rode his bicycle into the man's dog
'This laceration is still visible and significantly bruised some five days later. He has not been able to sleep on his back or comfortably sit in his chair at school all week.'
She did not witness the attack yet informed police she heard her son screaming, and caught a glimpse of the man as he ran from the park.
'I got to my son; he was beside himself. He said, 'that man's just hit me on the back,'' she told the Illawarra Mercury.
'I lifted up his shirt and saw the mark and called to my partner, 'that man has hit him! Go and find him!' But he had bolted.'
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She said she spoke to other parents who witnessed the assault and helped him once the attack was over, yet they were unable to identify the alleged attacker.
The boy, whose name she doesn't want to reveal, may not have been able to stop when the dog ran across his path, she said.
'He's on the autism spectrum – very high functioning – but he has a motor planning delay, so he doesn't have fantastic coordination.
'Adults should not be doing this to anybody, but especially a child.'
You can clearly see the imprint of the metal dog lead that struck the Wollongong boy
A photo taken immediately after the incident as it began to swell and become red straight away
She has been taken aback with the response of messages of support, and anger.
However she urges members of the community not to take matters into their own hands with any form of vigilante justice and worries that members of the public might mistake innocent passers-by in the area for her son's attacker.
Wollongong Police are now appealing for assistance to find the man, described as tall and aged in his 40s, with balding, short, grey hair and a slim/athletic build. He wore tan coloured pants and a navy top at the time of the alleged assault.
Wollongong Police Inspector Mark Walker called on anyone who knew the man to make contact with police.
'Of course we take seriously an allegation that an eight-year-old has been struck with what effectively is a whip,' he said.
'It's just not acceptable. We can't have mature adults assaulting children under the age of 10, over what appears to be an accident.'
'From the description of the male and the dog, someone in this local area knows who this man is, and we want to talk to him.'
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