Unpleasant experience.

beveragelady

I'm just back from walking my dogs. I do this at night for two reasons; I don't like sunlight much, and I like the woods at night. I've been going to the same place for almost six years with no difficulties at all.
I park my car in a small carpark and spend up to two hours strolling through nicely maintained Coillte-owned woods.
Tonight when I arrived at about 10pm there was a car already there. When I got out of my car the occupants (youths in tracksuits and hoodies) made a few comments, then one of them recognised me. I think I used to be his teacher, but I didn't recognise him. They made a few comments that I didn't hear, although I heard my own name a couple of times. I said "Have a good evening lads," and set off on my walk. I was a few minutes into the woods when I heard a car door close back at the carpark.
I wasn't worried about being followed because it was dark in there and I don't use a torch but others would need to. The dogs are some protection, and I carry a knife too.
Anyway, after a short walk (40 mins or so) I got back to the car to find the other car gone, and my driver's side door was covered in urine and semen. Disgusting.
I got in the passenger side, drove a roundabout way home and washed the car.
Can anybody tell me if I should go to the guards with this? It happened close to a small town, surely the local guard will know who owns the car if I describe it. Will they be able (bothered?) to do anything? Is this vandalism of property? Somehow the fact that semen was involved makes it vaguely sexual and threatening (I'm a lady alone in the woods, these lads are smearing man-juice on my car...). I took some pictures before I cleaned the car, but it's dark and they're not great.
I'm disgusted by this. I live alone in an isolated spot only three miles from where it happened and my odd little car is parked right at the front of my house. Tell me what to do so I can get some sleep.

Morag

I would have driven to the garda station before washing the car and made a report that way they could have taken samples. You may want to change were you go for a walk for a while.

LegacyUser

op you poor thing. what scumbags and what a horrible horrible horrible thing for them to do, jesus!!! absolutely you should ring the guards. if i was you i'd do it now, as in right NOW. you'll sleep easier once you've reported it. if you feel unsafe about being alone in the house and it's a small station they might send out a squad car to you? do you have a friend or family member you could ring to come round? mind yourself xx

crazy_kenny

If you can find a local guard these days I would report it. I think you are talking a chance walking in the same place at night for 6 years tbh.

beveragelady

Morag wrote: »

I would have driven to the garda station before washing the car and made a report that way they could have taken samples. You may want to change were you go for a walk for a while.

I set off in the direction of the garda station, but around here you have as much chance of finding a manned station at 11pm as you do of catching a meteorite.
I'm going to try to drop in in the morning, although there'll probably be nobody there. Not sure they'll take it seriously though.

LegacyUser

my replies are moderated so they take time to post but i'm so puzzled, why don't you just ring them? of course they'll take it seriously, why wouldn't they? criminal damage, lewd behaviour, you shouldn't play it down op. report it.

beveragelady

crazy_kenny wrote: »

I think you are talking a chance walking in the same place at night for 6 years tbh.

People say that to me sometimes, but the way I look at it, anybody who wants to to harm me can do it in broad daylight in my front garden. I'm safer in the woods, where I know my way around in the dark and I'm alert. The dogs are extremely protective, I have a big stick and a knife and a phone. Why should I be more scared of some scumbag than he is of me? I'll take my chances with them, but they're taking a chance too if they cross my path.
I hate the idea that we retreat into our homes when it gets dark and let the scumbags run riot at night.

m'lady

What happened was disgusting, and I'm unsure how the Guards will treat this to honest. I have to say I really think walking in a dark wood is extremely dangerous, dogs or no dogs.
Seriously you really have no idea what you could meet and knowing your way around the woods wouldn't be of any help to you at all if you can across the wrong person. Perhaps consider going even late evening where there would be more people out walking?

Doop

You could try posting in the emergency services fourm, as many gaurds are active there, to gauge their response. or link to this thread.

Awful thing to happen. Hope you dont let it get to you.

ArtyC

That's truly nasty, do report it. Noone should be intimadated like that

EvanCornwallis

I'd just let it go to be honest. The main reason being, I doubt much would happen to them even if they were identified.

Obviously try and be a little extra cautios, the next few times you're out and about. I also take my dog out late at night/early morning and it's disturbing how many of these scumbags you come across that are out of their minds on whatever.

appleb

I am sorry to hear what has happened to you. I'm not sure what the local guards are going to do at this stage (all evidence gone). However, I would not be going around telling people (or writing on a public forum) that you carry a knife. Surely if you feel safe , as you have stated, there should be no reason to do so.

Lorna123

I would not go into a dark woods after 10.00 p.m. at night, or anytime for that matter, whether I had dogs with me or not. You have no defense against a gang and you would not get to use a knife against a gang either. I really think it is very naive of you to think you are safe doing this. This is probably something you don't want to hear right now, but this incident is mild in comparison to what could have happened to you.

Little Acorn

appleb wrote: »

I am sorry to hear what has happened to you. I'm not sure what the local guards are going to do at this stage (all evidence gone). However, I would not be going around telling people (or writing on a public forum) that you carry a knife. Surely if you feel safe , as you have stated, there should be no reason to do so.

I'm sure she just carries the knife to cut some small fallen branches to make fetch toys for the dogs, or some other such innocent explanation...........

What happened is disgusting and an obvious attempt to intimidate and disgust.
Sadly I don't think much could be done about it at this stage because a. you didn't actually witness them doing it and b. there is no physical evidence tying them to it.

However I know that it can feel very disempowering to feel that there is nothing that can be done, so I think you should make a report anyways.
Give a full description of the car and the youths, and even if nothing can be done regarding your case, your information might help identify them if they do it to somebody else again.

LegacyUser

I just want to say it is not your fault what happened just because you like to walk your dogs at night.

Just like if someone came on here and said they had been sexually assaulted in some way, I don't think anybody would say that you shouldn't have been walking alone late at night and that you were lucky you weren't murdered as well. Because that would be victim blaming.

You are not doing anything wrong by walking in the woods, it's the scum who did that on your car who are in the wrong.

I know nobody means any harm by saying such things and that it is just meant to be helpful advice to keep you safe, but you didn't ask for safety advice regarding your dog walking habits so you won't be getting any of me.

Merkin

You poor thing.What a horrible experience and what vile individuals the perpetrators are, says a lot about them as individuals to carry out such a nasty crime. I do think that even regardless of any evidence for swabs you should go into the local Garda station and file a report. I do also think you really need to reevaluate the dangers involved in going walking in the woods under the cloak of darkness. I would take this as a sign that maybe the assumption that no harm will come to you is both ill founded and a tad naive. No need to labour this point as it has already been mentioned but I would be looking for a new time and location or my dog walking, you're simply way too vulnerable and putting yourself at unnecessary risk otherwise. Talk to the cops today and see what they suggest. Hope you're alright x

username123

Morag wrote: »

they could have taken samples.

appleb wrote: »

(all evidence gone).

Merkin wrote: »

I do think that even regardless of any evidence for swabs

I dont know if people have been watching too much CSI but there is absolutely no way in hell the Guards would be taking any "swabs" of anything for this!

A friend suffered a break in where the gas was switched on and the safety cut off damaged so that a gas explosion would destroy the place (and evidence presumably). It was considered an extremely serious crime because the person who discovered the break in actually could have died in such an explosion. The criminal had cut his hand on the way in through a smashed window and left blood everywhere throughout the house. Naturally we all urged the guards to "take samples" - they laughed at us. It just doesnt happen unless bodily harm was done.

In this case, horrible though it is, the car wasnt even damaged - just dirtied by human fluids. I would certainly report it but I wouldnt expect the guards to do much tbh.

However, I would make a big deal of this within the community in which you live - tell local politicians, the local newspaper, get the word out so that these scum know that they didnt frighten you into silence.

And while I would advise caution in the woods at night, I dont think anyone should be intimidated into not doing something they have been doing for years because of scumbags trying to intimidate them.

RossFixxxed

You SHOULD be able to walk at night wherever you want. Unfortunately that isn't the case. You shouldn't allow yourself to be intimdated, but if you are at actual risk you HAVE to be careful.

I have lost someone in the last year who should have been able to walk home safely from the pub, but sadly there are evil people out there and she never made it home. I'd love to say that nobody should be afriad of these things, but the real world is dangerous and you have to look out for yourself. Maybe they are just punks, all sound and fury. I don't know. If they are remotely dangerous you need to protect and care for yourself.

It's worth pointing out that statistically if you pull a knife on people, that is the knife that is going to end your life. (EDIT: This may actualy apply to guns, but I'd imagine it's not far off when it comes to knives etc)

stoeger

Id report it if they think they got away with it they will probably do it again
Get your self a small battery electric fence and attach it to you car if they piss on your car again it will be the last time

Emme

OP, you have been very lucky until now walking the dogs in the woods at night. There is no way in hell I would go walking anywhere remote after 8pm. There is a Coillte maintained wood near me as well and I only walk there during the day when I know that other people will be around such as families and a local GAA team who run in the woods. Coillte might maintain the woods but they can't keep scumbags away.

The Gardai will just tell you not to walk in the woods at night. Find somewhere safer and more public to walk your dogs if you must walk them at night.

You are lucky that the mess was made on your car door, it could have been a lot worse.

In an ideal world we could all walk everywhere but this isn't an ideal world.

And don't tell the Gardai you carry a knife unless you need it for taking plant cuttings. A knife is no defence against thugs if you are a woman alone. Dogs are not much defence either.

Doop

You should definitely report it, depending on the size of your community the gaurds may well know who owns this car, im sure a word from a gaurd to the car driver would embarrass and shame them, granted there may be no legal action to take due to no evidence but these lads need to be aware there are consequences to their actions.

Even if it wasnt the driver who committed this act you can be dam sure he wont hang around and allow a mate to do this in the future if he thinks he'll get pulled up on it.

kjl

Sorry for you upset OP, but in the grand scheme of things it's not exactly a major event. I think you should just forget about this and move on. The only thing the guards are going to do is make a report, nothing will ever come of it.

Rainblow

beveragelady wrote: »

I think I used to be his teacher,

Therein lies your problem. A lot of people don't like teachers.

Taltos

Rainblow - welcome to PI.
If you haven't done so already please take five minutes to read our charter and familiarise yourself with some threads so you can see what is and is not acceptable here. To summarise the rules here if you have no constructive advise to offer then you are asked not to post.

Throwaway comments or flaming comments such as above can and regularly do result in forum bans, even where there has been no past history from the poster in question. Due to the nature of the issues here PI is one of the more strictly moderated forum and we make no apologies about that.

So please, if you wish to continue to contribute here read the charter before making any further posts.

Thanks
Taltos

blackbird98

I would report it, while the gardai wont be making any arrests over it, they most likely would speak to the scumbags involved, especially as they are adults. That may be enough to ensure that it doesn't happen again

EvanCornwallis

blackbird98 wrote: »

I would report it, while the gardai wont be making any arrests over it, they most likely would speak to the scumbags involved, especially as they are adults. That may be enough to ensure that it doesn't happen again

Sadly a lot of times this can do the opposite. People that go to the Gardai find the abuse steps a notch and they become targeted more.

It's a horrible dilemma because ,you don't want to be living in fear and letting scum run free doing what they like, but the awful protection towards people that speak out mixed with the joke sentencing and punishments , leads people to not bother doing anything as its not worth it.

Oryx

Firstly, bravo to you for doing what you want to and not being cowed by fear.

The scumbags who did this to your car were probably, as you predicted, too afraid to follow you in the dark, so they did this cheap and nasty thing to your car. It was cowardly, and to me, shows that as cowards, they are unlikely to progress to violence against you - they had that opportunity. Chalk it up to a one time opportunistic thing, try not to let it stress you out.

On a separate note, the comment about the knife above is true. Chances are if you try to use a knife on an attacker, it will end up being used on you. Do not ever produce a weapon unless you are justified, prepared and able to use it.

beveragelady

OP here. Very busy day today. I called in to the local copshop at about ten am, nobody there. Dropped back at five pm, nobody there. A nice man told me to leave a note and they'd call me. I did, but nothing yet.

Now. This thing about walking at night. Can somebody tell me rationally why I'm in more danger at night than I am during the day? There is no inherent danger in darkness. These are skangers I'm dealing with, not vampires or white walkers.
If I'm there during the day and I see somebody walking towards me in the distance I'm unlikely to make any effort to get out of there. That person might be any sort of psycho but they're upon me before I realise I should have avoided them.
At night if I spot somebody I immediately retreat deeper into the woods. They probably do the same in the opposite direction if they spot me too, most likely convinced I'm a weirdo nightwalking maniac. We both live to tell the tale.

About knives: Somebody said that as soon as you bring a knife to a fight it becomes a knife fight. I'd hate to be the eejit who shows up at a knife fight without a knife. (I'm not really serious about this, I'm actually quite boring and law-abiding.)

m'lady

beveragelady wrote: »

OP here. Very busy day today. I called in to the local copshop at about ten am, nobody there. Dropped back at five pm, nobody there. A nice man told me to leave a note and they'd call me. I did, but nothing yet.

Now. This thing about walking at night. Can somebody tell me rationally why I'm in more danger at night than I am during the day? There is no inherent danger in darkness. These are skangers I'm dealing with, not vampires or white walkers.
If I'm there during the day and I see somebody walking towards me in the distance I'm unlikely to make any effort to get out of there. That person might be any sort of psycho but they're upon me before I realise I should have avoided them.
At night if I spot somebody I immediately retreat deeper into the woods. They probably do the same in the opposite direction if they spot me too, most likely convinced I'm a weirdo nightwalking maniac. We both live to tell the tale.

About knives: Somebody said that as soon as you bring a knife to a fight it becomes a knife fight. I'd hate to be the eejit who shows up at a knife fight without a knife. (I'm not really serious about this, I'm actually quite boring and law-abiding.)

I'm sorry I totally disagree with you in regards to the night walking, and to be frank I think it's quite a silly statement to make- during the day/evening there are plenty of people around and there aren't at night. I'm sure if the statistics on random rapes/assaults/attacks etc were to be looked into we would find the majority of them were at night time.
I'm not going to even comment on your knife comment. You appear very brave (perhaps a bit too much so), but you weren't last night after the incident. I can't see what the guards can do/will do at this stage, perhaps warn you about walking in a dark wood? I am not being smart OP but you really should be careful.

beveragelady

m'lady wrote: »

during the day/evening there are plenty of people around and there aren't at night. I'm sure if the statistics on random rapes/assaults/attacks etc were to be looked into we would find the majority of them were at night time.

You appear very brave (perhaps a bit too much so), but you weren't last night after the incident.

If we rule out squirrels and mice as possible aggressors, surely people are exactly what I should be avoiding. The point of my last post was that during the day people are around. People are the problem, in daylight or darkness. They're easier to avoid in darkness.

I'm not sure why you think I wasn't brave last night. I went home and washed my car. I was furious and disgusted, but cowardly?

I should explain that when I lived in Dublin I had an encounter with two be-hooded and be-tracksuited natives of the city while walking in Massey woods. There were plenty of people around, all of whom happened to be looking the other way for the duration of the encounter. When I stood my ground and the skangers left, some of the other people approached offering advice and support. They definitely saw what happened (not that serious, but not funny either) and decided not to intervene. That was in broad daylight. So much for other people. I'll take my chances alone in the welcoming darkness.

m'lady

beveragelady wrote: »

If we rule out squirrels and mice as possible aggressors, surely people are exactly what I should be avoiding. The point of my last post was that during the day people are around. People are the problem, in daylight or darkness. They're easier to avoid in darkness.

I'm not sure why you think I wasn't brave last night. I went home and washed my car. I was furious and disgusted, but cowardly?

I should explain that when I lived in Dublin I had an encounter with two be-hooded and be-tracksuited natives of the city while walking in Massey woods. There were plenty of people around, all of whom happened to be looking the other way for the duration of the encounter. When I stood my ground and the skangers left, some of the other people approached offering advice and support. They definitely saw what happened (not that serious, but not funny either) and decided not to intervene. That was in broad daylight. So much for other people. I'll take my chances alone in the welcoming darkness.

And the incident last night, how easily would that have happened in day light?

beveragelady

m'lady wrote: »

And the incident last night, how easily would that have happened in day light?

Just as easily! It's a quiet spot. I drove past it four times today (Two visits to the garda station) and there were no cars there. If I parked there to walk the dogs at 10:30am somebody could easily have had a quick afternoon delight with my car door if he felt up to it.

Merkin

I don't see the point of coming on here and then being defensive to the point of being ignorant. People have taken the time to offer you advice, help and support and I don't think the rude backlash is necessary tbh....

beveragelady

Merkin wrote: »

I don't see the point of coming on here and then being defensive to the point of being ignorant. People have taken the time to offer you advice, help and support and I don't think the rude backlash is necessary tbh....

You want me to say "Silly me, it's all my fault for being there. I'll just stay at home in future."
It wasn't all my fault. I'll defend my decision to park my car in a place where it has been safe for over six years. If that strikes you as ignorance there's very little I can do about it.
The question I asked at the start of the thread was "should I involve the guards?" I wanted to know if it would be taken seriously of if they'd laugh at me and reach for the invisible typewriter. This need some people have to tell me I 'had it coming' is not helpful, and it's not relevant.

fro9etb8j5qsl2

Merkin wrote: »

I don't see the point of coming on here and then being defensive to the point of being ignorant. People have taken the time to offer you advice, help and support and I don't think the rude backlash is necessary tbh....

OP was asking for advice about what to do regarding the specific incident that occurred. She wasn't looking for patronizing judgment on her actions and insinuations that it was her fault that it happened. The problem with this world is that it is constantly impressed on women how to avoid being attacked or raped without tackling the real problem- the men who carry out these attacks.

meeeeh

I'm well aware of the dangers of walking after dark alone but I never got why would anybody go to remote location in the woods waito attack somebody when there is little chance anyone will be around anyway. Unless you are also bird watcher you'd die of boredom. People can be unlucky sometimes but there is way greater chance of being attacked in more populated areas or at home than in the woods. Knife is completely useless as defence though.

As for the incident I wouldn't hold my breath anything will happen if you report the scum. We had to report a few instances of break ins and some vandalism, significant enough that fire brigade had to be called couple of times and nothing came out of it. I would never advise anyone not to report but don't expect anything if you do. There is very little they can or would do in this instance.

Ham Sambo

Look, this might just be the wakeup call you need, don’t get me wrong that must have been a very unpleasant experience for you to come back to your car and find this mess on your door, however I think you are really asking for trouble walking in any secluded area after dark, you say that these guys called out your name so I can assume they knew you?, what if you didn’t know these guys? A number of things could have happened. If I was you I would stick to walking in daylight or lit up areas, it really isn’t worth it.

Taltos

OP as you've chosen to inform the gardai (although you have a different issue there) I am going to close this thread before it continues to descend more into a debate on the safety of walking at night in a wood or any location and the dangers to you and others when you do so armed with a knife.

Best of luck and I hope these muppets get a comeuppance from the gardai.

Taltos