A Leeds girl who disarmed a sex offender while he held her at knifepoint has spoken about the “scary” and "weird" experience, which saw her attacker flee the scene after she took out her phone camera to take pictures of him.
Alexandra Muresan from Beeston, now 19 and working at a bar, was 15 at the time of the incident on the morning of Friday, February 15 2019. She was on her way to Mount St Mary’s Catholic High School, in East End Park, through a ginnel near Torre Drive when she was approached from behind by a stranger, Nathan Rawson.
Rawson grabbed hold of Alexandra by the waist, held a knife to her waist and told her to “come with him”. Speaking to Leeds Live, Alexandra said: “I was scared, really scared. In my head, I thought it was over for me and I was going to die. That went through my head straight away.”
Rawson then forced her to go into some bushes with him then pushed her shoulders downwards telling her to get onto the floor, slipping the knife up his sleeve to free his hand.
With “adrenaline kicking in,” Alexandra grabbed hold of the knife and a struggle ensued. Rawson had the blade of the weapon in his gloved palm. Alexandra managed to take the knife from her attacker and ran from the bushes.
Alexandra got her mobile phone out to call police as she ran but Rawson chased after her. Alexandra said: “He was just standing in place and asking for his knife back. He was saying ‘Can I have my knife back, please?’
“That’s exactly what he said. I said ‘no!’. It was all so weird for me. I knew my phone was in my pocket so I took it out and took pictures of him. That’s when he started to run away. My instincts told me to do that.”
Alexandra contacted emergency services as she was left bleeding deeply from a cut to her finger which required stitches. Two Police officers were able to identify Rawson from the images Alexandra had taken. Alexandra also picked out Rawson on an ID parade.
Rawson, now 25, was given an extended sentence of 13 years and eight months after pleading guilty to kidnapping, wounding, committing an offence with intent to commit a sexual offence, possession of an offensive weapon and two unrelated counts of burglary.
Alexandra said: “I try not to think about what he would have done. I don’t go out by myself anymore, when I do I take my dog with me. If someone walks close to me, it makes me feel a bit weird.
“When I saw him in court, I didn’t really look at him. It’s hard to explain why. I don’t know how to explain it.”
Alexandra received a commendation from Leeds District Commander, Chief Superintendent Steve Dodds, for her brave actions.
Asked about her message for other young women and girls reading this article, she said: “Don’t think you’re not strong enough, when you’re in a situation like that you’ve got to have a strong mindset. Just quick thinking.”
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