A teenage girl was allegedly indecently assaulted in central Wellington early today.
Police are appealing for witnesses and any information concerning the incident in Courtenay Place about 3:20am.
The 17-year-old victim was not physically injured, but was left shaken and traumatised.
Detective Constable Trevor Collett said the victim was standing near the bus terminus on Courtenay Place when a white van pulled up beside her.
"The white van was full of young males and people may remember seeing it because they were shouting out and being unruly," he said.
One man got out of the van and approached the young woman who was on her way to meet her boyfriend.
"The male grabbed the victim and indecently assaulted her before she managed to break free," Mr Collett said.
"The victim locked herself in a public toilet cubicle on the other side of Courtenay Place from The Establishment and waited until the offender left."
The alleged offender was described as 18 to 25 years old, Caucasian, with blonde hair of medium length, and about 1.75m tall, or slightly taller. He had quite big dark eyebrows, was clean shaven, and of muscular build, although not big.
The man spoke with a New Zealand accent and was wearing a striped or chequered shirt with the sleeves rolled up and dark coloured trousers, possibly jeans. He smelled of alcohol and was unstable on his feet.
The offender's vehicle was described as a white van, full of boys. It was quite old and not in good condition. It had a black line down the whole length of the side.
"There were a number of taxi drivers and other people socialising in the area at the time, who may have seen what happened," Mr Collett said.
"Police appeal to these witnesses and anyone else who has information that could assist the enquiry to contact police."
