Man Allegedly Flashes Female Jogger. She's A Former Israeli Soldier. Then This Happens.
Last Thursday morning, a single mother of two was jogging along Memorial Drive in Cambridge, Massachusetts when she was allegedly flashed twice by a man running the other way, who didn’t know one crucial fact about the 6’1” woman:
She was a former soldier in the Israeli army.
Thus, the woman, named Aia, a mother of two children, turned around and chased the man down, holding him for five minutes and fruitlessly yelling for help, only to see the man escape when she pulled out her phone and called 911.
Aia told ABC Boston, “Enjoying my beautiful day, I was thinking ‘What a great day to be alive.’ He pulled his pants once, and, you know, I didn’t react too much. As he came closer he pulled them again. Then I understood maybe it’s not what I think it is.” Aia said the man tried to reach out to grab her and she reacted.
Aia told NBC Boston, “I told him I was going to get him, so I’m going to get you, darling. It was not his lucky day because I decided it was not going to happen and I decided to chase him down.” Aia grabbed the alleged flasher and held him down for five minutes, yelling for help.
She said, 'With all due respect, people, what does it look like? Romantic conversation? I'm holding him down yelling, 'Call the police.’ People just choose to ignore it.” She stated, “When I was holding him down, he was terrified. He was really, really scared.” Aia pulled her phone out to call 911, aware that the alleged flasher might escape.
One policeman told ABC Boston, '”Good for her. You know, I think she put the fear of God in the guy.”
Aia commented, “I’m 6’1”, pretty fit. It’s not really a good victim to go after.”
Asked whether she had second thoughts about chasing him down, Aia replied, “Hell, no. I was not ready to see his little d***. ...I’m not doing that. No. No. That’s not right.”
She told NBC Boston, “I want to speak out; I want people to know that you have a choice. Those who passed by didn’t help; and those who ever come in this situation, when that happens you can play as and you can do something about so my choice is to do something about it.” She added, “Where I come from and how I grew up, we don't just walk by. We don't just ignore it, because I have a daughter and it could be my daughter next to him and she's not going to be that. If you want to call it bravery for what I did, yeah, it's for the ones after me."
She added, “(If) I'm not going to chase him, he's going to scare some girl and get her all the way down and then what? No.”
Surveillance video of the scene was released by the Massachusetts State Police. It showed the man, who appeared to be in his 40’s, wearing a dark shirt, shorts, and sneakers.
Video below:
