Ivan Skoko saw a teenage girl allegedly being targeted by a man as they waited for a tube in London, acting quickly and tackling him to the ground in a brave move
A martial arts expert is being hailed a hero for tackling a suspected sex attacker to the ground outside a tube stop. He was believed to be targeting a teenage girl when he was stopped.
The incident, which took place at a London tube station, caught several people off guard as the suspect was taken down by Brazilian jiu-jitsu expert Ivan Skoko, 29. However, he was not the only one to try and bring the man to justice.
Police were soon there to arrest and detain the man, who, according to reports, refused to go down without a fight. The martial arts expert said he was disgusted at what he saw and felt he had to intervene.
Dramatic video footage shows the suspect trying to launch an attack on a young guy, before Ivan comes in and tackles him to the ground, completely incapacitating him. Other footage shows the terrified victim describing what happened to the police as they carry out their first investigations.
Ivan, from Croatia, had been at Moorgate tube station in central London at around 9pm on Friday evening (December 5), when the alleged incident took place. He saw the man attempting to grope a 14-year-old girl and used the skills in jiu-jitsu to bring him to the ground.
Speaking to the Daily Mail, Ivan said that the man had been shouting just moments after the incident took place. He added that he was not the only person to try and intervene, as two teenage boys also tried to intervene.
According to eyewitness reports, the man then proceeded to throw a punch at the lads but missed as they ran away. He then legged after them, trying to scare them off after he groped the helpless girl.
Ivan, who stands tall at a huge 6ft 3in (190cm), was then quick to act as he decided to step in and tackle the suspect to the ground. He explained he had seen what happened and was left shocked at what he had seen.
“I had just finished training at the gym in Moorgate,” he recounted. “There was a seminar with our head coach there.
“I was walking towards the station and I could see there was a big commotion; I could see young people screaming around a guy. I could see something serious was happening so I crossed the street and realised the girl, she was only 14, was saying ‘this man grabbed my a**’,” he added.
After holding back to see what could have happened, Ivan leapt into action after he saw the suspect launch at the teenagers. He gave his phone to a fellow passenger and told them to record the incident, disarming the man and rendering him disabled until police could arrive.
He used one quick leg sweep in footage of the incident that has since gone viral. The man stayed down until City of London Police arrived to arrest him.
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