This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

A 31-year-old man has been charged over a roadside sexual assault of a woman in Alice Springs, allegedly strangling and repeatedly stabbing her.

The 28-year-old woman was walking with a friend near the North Stuart highway on Saturday night when they were stopped by a man in his car, who then got out and attacked her, Northern Territory police said.

Police said the man allegedly strangled the woman to the point of unconsciousness after which she was stabbed repeatedly.

He then returned to his car and drove off, leaving the seriously injured woman and the other man by the side of the road, police alleged.

The pair flagged down a passing motorist and alerted police, who pursed the 31-year-old and arrested him.

The man has been charged with causing serious harm, sexual intercourse without consent, aggravated assault and other offences. He will appear in court on Tuesday.

The woman remains in the Alice Springs hospital in a stable condition.

In a separate case, a 33-year-old man was due to face court on Tuesday, charged with the serious assault of a woman he was walking with on an Alice Springs road. Police will allege the two began arguing and the man picked up a stick and hit her with it, breaking her arm.



Alice Springs saw an increase of almost 23% in rates of crimes against the person, also known as violent crime, in the year to February, which was part of an upward trend across the Northern Territory. Sexual assault rates dropped by 22% while assaults generally rose by more than 23%.

In late February, NT police launched Operation Haven, a whole-of-government response to the NT’s high rates of domestic and family violence, primarily by targeting alcohol sales and abuse.

It began in Alice Springs but was extended to Katherine and Tennant Creek, the latter of which is under severe alcohol restrictions after the alleged sexual assault of a two-year-old girl.