CCTV holds clues on early morning rape

A GROUP of men who stopped to talk to a woman on a Carlton street before she was taken into a car and raped could hold information that will help solve the disturbing crime.

The latest attack on a woman in Melbourne’s inner north — just days after the nearby rape and murder of Eu- rydice Dixon — has prompted stern warnings and promises from Victoria Police that they will hunt down predators.

A woman aged in her 30s was so badly assaulted she had to be taken to hospital after arriving home to her partner in the early hours of Sunday.

Detectives have not ruled out the possibility multiple men were involved in the rape.

The woman was on the intersection of Grattan and Lygon streets about 4.30am on Sunday after a night out with friends at Retro nightclub in Melbourne’s CBD.

Her female friend went into a shop to grab a late night snack and the pair became separated.

CCTV footage shows three men in a silver ute stopping their car and talking to the victim, who was on the footpath near the intersection, with police considering the theory they were stopping to check on her welfare. The cameras show another man walking nearby before leaving the area.

The men in the ute get back in the car and head north, and the other man walks away down the footpath. What happened next is a mystery.

The victim has been unable to remember details of the attack or whose car she was in, but the evidence suggests the rape was severe.