Sarah Hyland Groped By Fan Down Under, Leaves ‘Modern Family’ Party In Tears
Sarah Hyland tearfully left a Modern Family party after she was sexually assaulted by an over-zealous fan who used a photo-opportunity with the actress to grope her.
The 23-year-old is currently in Australia filming several episodes of the hit sitcom. The incident is believed to have occurred on Tuesday evening at a soiree hosted by Qantas at Sydney’s The Sebel Pier One.
Reports have since emerged that Hyland was instantly shocked and appalled after a man asked to have a photograph with her and instead grabbed her breast. A 29-year-old has since been arrested in relation to the attack.
Sarah is believed to have then instantly pushed the perpetrator away, yelling, “Don’t touch me there!” At this point, security are believed to have intervened. They apparently questioned the man before passing the matter onto the police.
Hyland then composed herself and entered the event. However, she was clearly still uncomfortable after her ordeal, and was spotted leaving through the venue’s back door in tears.
Later, Sarah apologised to the fans that she wasn’t able to meet and greet, writing on Twitter:
Sorry to all the fans outside the #qantas event that I didn’t get to say hi to but I had to leave due to an inappropriate touch of a fan
— Sarah Hyland (@Sarah_Hyland) February 20, 2014
Meanwhile, her boyfriend, Matt Prokop, was deservedly apoplectic at his girlfriend’s treatment, and he took to his own account to launch a tirade against the man responsible:
To the asshole who assaulted Sarah tonight I hope to God you don’t see next week.
— Matt Prokop (@mattpro13) February 20, 2014
All Sarah wanted to do tonight was say hi to the girls who were waiting outside one douche can ruin it for everyone. Goodnight.
— Matt Prokop (@mattpro13) February 20, 2014
A spokesperson for the New South Wales police department has since told the Daily Mail,“A man is assisting police with investigations following an alleged indecent assault of a woman yesterday. It is alleged the man indecently assaulted the 23-year-old woman near Hikcson Road, The Rocks, at about 7:50pm. A 29-year-old man was arrested. Police are continuing their investigations.”
The entire Modern Family cast, which includes Ariel Winter, Sofia Vergara, Julie Bown and Ty Burell, are currently in Australia to shoot various scenes for a special edition of the sitcom. They haver recently been spotted filming in Queensland and Sydney, and will continue to film in these areas until February 28.
[Image via s_bukley/Shutterstock]
