A Dundee hairdresser has told how she could have been raped when a man exposed himself inside her shop then grabbed hold of her.
The man entered Cuts and Colours on Lyon Street in Stobswell on a couple of occasions on Thursday to use the toilet.
But on his fourth visit he exposed himself to Kim Deans then took hold of her, before she fought him off and he fled.
The 42-year-old said: “It wasn’t till later in the day I started to process the events, he’d grabbed me by both hands before picking me up.
Although he never actually did anything, I did start to think I could have been raped
“I started thinking, were all the other visits that day with the intention to do what he did? Was he scoping the place out?
“That final time he came in there were no customers. Although he never actually did anything, I did start to think I could have been raped.”
Kim says the man claimed to be working in the area when he asked to use the toilet.
She said: “This has always been a community business and we’ve had people asking to use the facilities before and it hasn’t been a problem.
“He seemed fine at first and then he came back in at 11am and he was trying to speak more.”
The Kirkton resident says she was “freaked out” after spotting the same man “hiding behind a work van” near Wallacetown Health Centre.
The suspect – who was described as being in his late 20s or early 30s with a local accent – then asked Kim where the nearest bus stop was.
She continued: “I thought that was going to be the end of it and was relieved he was going to be honest.
‘He apologised for exposing himself’
“I went into the back of the shop and he just appeared again and was already beyond the second chair in the salon, and he asked to use the toilet again.”
Kim felt something pressing against her back before turning around to discover the man had exposed himself.
She said: “He apologised for exposing himself and zipped himself up, and explained how he ‘needed to give me something’ for using the facilities.
The next thing, he’d picked me up and taken me to an area of the back room which isn’t visible from outside the shop
“The man offered to give me a dance. The next thing, he’d picked me up and taken me to an area of the back room which isn’t visible from the outside of the shop.
“He tried to bend me over the basin area and that’s when I elbowed him and pushed him away, and he apologised again.
“I told him ‘that’s not OK’ before he apologised and ran away and said he wouldn’t be back.
“I couldn’t believe what was happening and I don’t think the severity of what had happened kicked in until after he had left.”
Kim contacted police before her next client arrived about 10 minutes later, but she was forced to cancel some of her later appointments.
The businesswoman says she wanted to speak out to highlight what had happened and warn others.
She added: “I’m glad I shared it as there are so many small businesses that women are working in alone.
“My customers and those online have been horrified by what happened.
Police launch investigation
“The police have been brilliant, they were here really quickly in the aftermath and I was able to tell them the guy had a disfigurement to his upper lip.
“From what I could remember he was wearing jeans and shoes, he was strong when he grabbed me but was around the same height as me and was skinny.
“It has made me feel sick what happened and it scares me to think what might have happened.”
A spokesman for Police Scotland said: “At around 1.25 pm on Thursday, police received a report of a man having exposed himself to a member of staff within business premises on Lyon Street, Dundee.
”Inquiries are ongoing.”
