CCTV appeal after two women sexually assaulted in Liverpool
Police have stepped up patrols
Detectives have issued a CCTV image of a man who may have information that could assist enquiries following two reports of sexual assault in Liverpool.
The first report took place at around 6.30pm on Wednesday 20th December on Crosfield Road, Edge Hill. The suspect sexually assaulted a woman in her 60s and as she fell to the ground a car stopped in the road and he ran off.
No injuries were reported but the victim was very shaken by the incident.
The second incident occurred at around 7pm on Thursday (28th December) on the footpath near to Liverpool Tennis Centre, off Picton Road in Wavertree.
A woman in her 40s was walking her dog when a man pushed her to the ground and sexually assaulted her.
She fought him off and he ran away towards the Mystery Park where he was seen a short time later on Westdale Road.
Detectives have now issued CCTV of a man they want to speak to.
Detective Inspector Rob Pritchard said:
“I would like to reassure the public that incidents such as this are rare and we are taking this incident extremely serious. Both victims are very shaken and understandably very distressed by the incident.
“We are examining a number of lines of enquiry including CCTV footage, forensic and witness enquiries.
“We have stepped up patrols in the area, and this includes neighbourhood and Matrix officers in both uniform and plain clothes on foot.
“Detectives are carrying out house-to-house enquiries to identify the offender and provide further reassurance.
“I am appealing to the man featured in this image, or anyone who recognises him to come forward as we believe he could hold information that could be vital to our continuing enquiries.
“In the meantime we would ask members of the public to be vigilant and to report anything suspicious to us.
“I would also ask for anyone who believes they could assist the investigation with information that may help our enquiries, including CCTV and dashcam footage of the incident, to also contact us.”
Det Insp Pritchard added: “Providing support to victims of sexual assault has never been more important, and I would encourage anyone experiencing this to report it to us and we will support you every way we can.
"If anyone who has suffered a sexual offence and you can find the courage to come forward and speak to us, we will deal with you sensitively and make sure that reports are thoroughly investigated."
If you have any information on the incident, you can contact Merseyside Police via Twitter @MerPolCC or Facebook Merseyside Police Contact Centre. You can also call 101 quoting incident reference 23001331388, or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.
Anyone who wants to report a sexual offence can call 101 where you will be spoken to by a specially trained officer.
Specialist support services are available for victims of sexual assault or rape:
You can choose to make an anonymous report through the Sexual Assault Referral Centre called Safe Place, or the Independent Sexual Violence Advisor service, rather than going directly to police.
With no police involvement, a specialist doctor at Safe Place can examine you to check that you are ok and look for DNA evidence, which they will store to support your case. This gives you the option of making a formal police report at a later time, if you choose to.
Support is also available in Liverpool, Sefton and Wirral, from Rape and Sexual Abuse Support (RASA) Merseyside who are available on 0151 558 1801 and, in St Helens and Knowsley, by the Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Centre (RASASC) Cheshire and Merseyside who can be contacted on 01925 221 546 or 0330 363 0063.