Beirut waterfront at sunset, on Feb. 23, 2023. (Credit: Layal Dagher/L'Orient-Le Jour)
BEIRUT — A man suspected of "attempted rape" last week near the former KidzMondo children's recreation center on the Beirut waterfront has been arrested, Internal Security Forces (ISF) announced in a Sunday evening statement.
According to ISF, the suspect — born in 1993, referred to as M.M. in the statement — harassed the victim and tried to rape her. He ripped her clothing, beat her and choked her before running to an unknown area after others intervened at the scene.
The victim was taken to the Geitawi hospital for treatment. She reportedly suffered trauma and injuries all over her body.
The ISF also said the suspect confessed to attempted rape of the victim. He allegedly confessed to following "those with foreign nationalities" and was involved in 30 other incidents of harassment in the past 8 months. The ISF also said the suspect did "indecent acts" in public.
The ISF said it intends to publish a photo of the suspect and asks "victims, especially those who filed a lawsuit against an unknown harasser, to communicate with the intelligence branch [of the ISF] and call 1788, and to come to the investigation unit of the intelligence branch in the ISF main quarters in Ashrafiyeh."
Reports of the assault first circulated on social media on March 29.
"Since the Beirut blast of Aug. 4, 2020, the area [where the attack happened] is no longer lit, and there are no surveillance cameras," the ISF said.
The ISF's statement also reported that the assault took place on the evening of March 28 and not on March 29, as reported in the ISF's original statement.