Australian police have arrested a man who was detained by police in the US for an alleged assault on a woman.
The Australian Federal Police said on Tuesday that the arrest was made on Saturday after a woman reported that she was assaulted by an individual at the US consulate in Melbourne.
The woman said she had been attacked after returning home from the US.
Police in Melbourne arrested a 37-year-old man on Saturday in the United States after an alleged domestic assault.
He is currently being held in custody and is expected to face a domestic violence charge on the basis of the domestic violence offence in the state of Victoria.
Australian Police Chief Commissioner Andrew Scipione said the Australian Federal Bureau of Investigation (AFP) was working with US authorities on the investigation.
He said the arrest occurred after an investigation by the AFP, which was led by the US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).
“This is a case of a violent assault on an Australian citizen, which we have no evidence of,” Mr Scipion said.
The AFP said the alleged assault happened at about 12:00am on Saturday at the consulate in Victoria.
It said that the assault involved a man wearing a mask, a black jacket and gloves.
“A US citizen and a British citizen were detained at the United Nations building on a US consulate premises on Saturday morning after reports that a woman had been assaulted by a US citizen,” AFP Commissioner Andrew Colvin said.
“It is the first known arrest of a US national in relation to an alleged incident involving a UK national.”
The alleged assault occurred after the US citizen was detained and returned to his home country of the United Kingdom, according to AFP Commissioner Colvin.
The arrest is being investigated by the FBI.
Mr Colvin told the ABC that it was not known if the Australian man was also involved in the attack in the city of Melbourne.
A spokeswoman for the Australian Consulate in New York said the woman was not injured.
The consulate said the incident was not the first assault reported by a British woman in New Zealand, and that they were investigating.
AFP Commissioner Andrew Haldane said the AFP had “conducted extensive intelligence collection in relation”.
“As part of the investigation, we have also gathered intelligence about an alleged attack on a British female citizen in New England, and are currently working with New Zealand authorities to investigate this matter,” he said.
The AFP said it was aware of the arrest and would “conduct a full investigation of the matter” in the coming days.
ABC/wiresTopics:law-crime-and-justice,crime,police,government-and the-territory-of-gb,melbourne-3000,vic,australiaFirst posted March 09, 2020 19:40:47Contact John Smith
