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A teenage girl was raped in a brutal attack at a secluded Waterford city black spot that some locals wanted closed because of a rape there nine years ago.



Gardai were on Thursday night following a definite line of enquiry in relation to the rape of the girl at the St John’s River Walk in Kilbarry, which is also an unofficial entrance from the Tramore Road into the Cherrymount housing estate.



Late one evening in March 2005, a 14-year-old girl was raped at the exact same spot after she was followed when she got off of the bus from Tramore.



Locals say that they have stopped using the walkway, particularly at night, because of drinking and public order nuisance in that area.



However, the walkway and Kilbarry Bog are due for a facelift in the hope of attracting eco-tourists, as laid out in Waterford City and County Council’s Nature Park Management Plan [2012-2019].



A nature walk is due to start from the spot this morning.



Gardai cordoned off the area on Thursday pending a technical examination.



One long-standing resident, who did not wish to be named, said that the bushes in the area are normally cut back by now but have become overgrown recently.



Meanwhile, despite calls to improve lighting at the walkway when the girl was attacked in 2005, it remained in the dark until last Winter, said the local.



“I hate to say it but, this was on the cards. It’s such a shame that isolated incidents like these ruin the amenity for everybody.”



“At this time of year, there are always people down there drinking. There were a couple of people actually living in the bushes down there.



"It's well lit now but it's been very overgrown down there, with the bushes. You could see where someone could be attacked with the bushes the way they are.



“I can’t, for the life of me, figure out how women cross there with buggies and kids,” added the resident.



Gardai are seeking assistance from the public information about the attack at the walkway – opposite the Kingfisher Fitness Club complex on Thursday night between 11:15pm and 12:15am yesterday.



Det Sgt Donal O’Donohue on Thursday night confirmed that investigators are following a definite line of enquiry in relation to the attack.



Sgt Donohue said: “We are following a definite line on it and there is not a lot more we can say about it at the moment.



“The investigation is still in its infancy but we are following a definite line.”



It is understood that the girl did not need to be hospitalised in relation to the attack but is seriously traumatised.



Sgt Gavin Hegarty last night added: “We are investigating a serious incident in that location and we are satisfied that there are at least four people in the Cherrymount estate [entrance] between 11pm and 1am.



“We are appealing for those people to help us; they may have witnessed something,” added Sgt Hegarty.



Sgt Hegarty could not comment on questions relating to a possible connection between the latest incident and the attack in 2005.



Meanwhile, nothing has emerged in the public domain that links the two incidents.



In the rape incident nine years ago, the teenage victim had disembarked a bus at Superquinn, now Supervalu, and made her way along St John’s River Walk.



At the time it emerged that she and a friend had hitched to Tramore earlier that evening to attend a party, while they travelled back to Waterford on the 11.35pm Bus Éireann bus. This service still runs at that time.



The girls became separated as they made their way across the badly-lit short-cut with the girl being attacked from behind. She was raped near her own front door.



Gardai at the time queried if the man had travelled on the same bus as the girls.

Locals and their representatives at the time called for better lighting at the walkway, while there were also calls for it to be permanently closed.



However, it remained open and continues to be a location where drinking and public order nuisance are common, according to some Cherrymount residents contacted yesterday.



Anyone with information on the attack or who may have seen something suspicious in the area can contact the gardai in Waterford on 051305300 or call Garda Confidential Hotline on 1800 666 111.