Man arrested minutes after abduction, rape

Police arrested a man within minutes of a brazen abduction and rape in New Plymouth yesterday.

The 48-year-old victim was walking along Breakwater Rd about 7.45am when she was grabbed by a man who forced her on to a nearby grass area and sexually violated her in full view of the busy road, the Taranaki Daily News reported.

Police were quickly at the scene and arrested the alleged attacker, a 29-year-old man found nearby, within 10 minutes.

Detective Senior Sergeant Grant Coward said it was an abhorrent, disgusting sexual attack.

"She was walking along the road minding her own business when she was approached by the suspect, which resulted in the attack."

Mr Coward said it was an unusual attack for the time of day, but he was pleased with the response from the public.

"It was fantastic, they had seen what was going on in this location and at least five have come forward and provided very helpful and useful information to the police," he said.

The alleged offender fled the scene but was caught about 400m away within 10 minutes, Mr Coward said.

"It was a terrible crime, which thankfully we have sorted pretty quickly."

The victim was distraught after the attack but did not require medical treatment.

- NZPA