Priest Prays For Predator

A priest is praying for the man who attacked a woman after prayers in his church.

She was preyed upon in a sexual assault that took place in the grounds of a church in Londonderry.

Police have appealed for help in finding the culprit - a man in his late teens who spoke to victim - striking up a casual conversation with her as she left St Columba's Long Tower Church on Easter Sunday where she had been worshiping.

The assailant then followed her and launched a sexual attack on her outside the church.

Local priest, Father Roland Colhoun from Long Tower said only the woman's presence of mind saved her from a more horrific attack: "She was a very brave girl and very quick-thinking, because she had a very speedy reaction of self-defence.

"She screamed and fought him off by putting her fingers into his eyes and he took to his heels and ran off.

"It could have been quite a serious assault, but because of her quick thinking she drew it to a close very quickly," he said.

Speaking this morning on BBC Radio Ulster, the priest said that while he urged that anyone with information should go to the police, he also revealed that he would also be praying for the sexual predator as well.

This is not the first such incident to shock Derry. Late last year an American student was raped. She was assaulted by her attacker who first forced her to go into a car park outside the Bogside Inn in the city where he raped her.

See: Student Rape Victim Back In USA

(BMcC)