Police appeal for information as they investigate a reported rape in Wallsend
A woman, 63, was allegedly attacked at the Rising Sun Country Park
Detectives investigating a report of a rape in Wallsend are calling on the public to help locate the man responsible.
At about 4.10pm on Monday, March 28, officers attended Rising Sun Country Park after a report of a woman in a distressed state was made to police.
When officers arrived the 63-year-old woman reported she had been raped by an unknown man near the Pit Heap area of the park.
An investigation was immediately launched by Northumbria Police's Safeguarding unit and the victim supported by specially-trained officers.
Detectives have been carrying out extensive enquiries since and there have been extra patrols in the area to provide reassurance.
"This incident happened in daylight hours in a busy park."
Officers are now appealing to the public to help locate the offender and have released a description bravely given by the victim.
He is described as being:
- White male
- Late 20s early 30s
- Local North East accent
- Between 5ft 6-5ft 10
- Medium build
- Clean shaven
- Possibly wearing a dark or grey hoody and bottoms
Detective Chief Inspector Shelley Hudson is leading the investigation and believes that those who use the park may have information which could assist with enquiries.
Det Chief Insp Hudson said:
"Firstly and most importantly, I want to praise the bravery of the victim at this extremely difficult time. We continue to support her in any way we can and our priority is to find the offender.
"We have had teams working tirelessly since Monday on this investigation and we are now appealing to those who use this park regularly, or were in the area at the time, to help with our enquiries.
"This incident happened in daylight hours in a busy park used regularly by dog walkers, cyclists, joggers and people enjoying the scenery.
"The victim has now courageously been able to provide us with a description and we are hoping that this, along with local knowledge, someone may have a vital piece of information that could help us identify the man responsible.
“Incidents of this nature are rare in this area, but when the do occur we are committed to using every tactic at our disposal to bring offenders to justice.
“There will continue to be an increased police presence in the area as we carry out our enquires and we would ask anyone who has concerns to speak to one of our officers.”
Anyone who has any information is asked to contact police via the Tell Us Something pages of the Northumbria Police website or contact 101 quoting reference NP-20220328-0700 or contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
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