Detectives are searching for the elderly attacker, who grabbed the woman while she was shopping in the city’s east.
‘I’m not sleeping because of feeling unsafe, and I feel like I’ve been violated,’ she said on Saturday while urging witnesses to come forward.
‘It’s put a lot of pressure on our family.’
The mother, who cannot be identified, says she was approached by the unknown man last Sunday night at Ringwood’s Centro Shopping Centre as she walked past a liquor store.
He told her she looked cold and needed a hug before wrapping his arms around her.
Police say the man then sexually assaulted the woman before walking away.
The mother told a supermarket manager about the assault, who then called police.
‘Throughout the whole week I think I’ve had about ten minutes on my own, and even then I started to feel a bit of a panic attack,’ she said.
‘It’s very difficult to feel safe, even at home.’
Detectives released CCTV footage of the man, described as being caucasian, aged in his 60s or 70s, with white hair and wearing a yellow t-shirt.
Source: Sky News Australia