Acton Sex Attacker May Be Local
Detective Inspector Ash Hornsby speaks to ActonW3.com about the investigation
Police believe there is a strong probability that the man responsible for four sex attacks in the East Acton area may live locally.
The assaults on lone women took place on dates in January, February and March in St Andrew's Road, Hoylake Road, Trinity Way and most recently near East Acton tube station.
Detective Inspector Ash Hornsby has spoken to ActonW3.com about the investigation and is urging anyone who thinks they might recognise the man in the CCTV image to get in contact:
'' The incidents are being linked on the basis of geography, this centres around Brassie Avenue and St Andrew's Road, one of the offences is the other side of the A40, Trinity Way, but none the less we are linking it because it's not too far away.
''The second thing is the modus operandi, all of the assaults involve a lone female approached by a male from behind, who sexually assaults them then runs off.
''The third thing that we believe links the incidents is the suspect's description - he is said to be a white or asian male, age approximately 18-32, 6ft, slim build with dark hair.
''We'd also like to highlight the jacket - it's been mentioned in two of the attacks - a dark coloured parkour style jacket with a fur lined hood.
'' We believe there is a strong possibility the person in this photograph either resides or frequents the local area.''
DI Hornsby says three of the attacks happened at night and one during broad daylight. One of the victims told police the attacker grinned after committing the offence.
'' The women were all walking on their own and on three occasions were distracted on mobiles when the attacks happened. We urge women to be vigilant and be aware of who and what's happening around them.''
However, he is keen to reassure local residents everything is being done to find this man.
He said, ''We're working with local police teams and other partners to see if we can identify who this person is. We have been trawling through all the CCTV to see if we find any clearer images, officers have been conducting house to house enquiries and we have increased patrols in the area.''
Anyone with any information is requested to call the investigation team on 0207 161 9702 or via 101. Information can be provided anonymously through Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or via crimestoppers-uk.org, or through the local police team.
13th April 2016