A girl of 11 was subjected to a horrifying two-hour rape in a park after being snatched as she walked home from school.
The child was taken to hospital with severe injuries after the attack and has since undergone surgery.
Police revealed yesterday that her ordeal began when she got off a bus on Friday at around 4.30pm.
Sensing she was being followed by a man, she crossed the road several
times to try to shake him off. Moments later he caught up with her and
dragged her off the street. He then pulled her into a nearby park where
he raped her.
The victim finally got home around 8pm and told her distressed parents what had happened and they took her to hospital.
The attack took place in Jubilee Park, which lies opposite a row of smart houses in the affluent North London suburb of Enfield.
Detective Inspector Simon Ellershaw, who is leading the
investigation, said it was a ‘horrific attack on a defenceless young
girl’. ‘It doesn’t need me to say how serious an attack this is,’ he
said.
‘We come across this type of assault on very rare occasions and are treating it with the utmost seriousness.
‘The girl is still in hospital and has had to have surgery to treat her severe injuries.
‘She is being supported by her family and of course I’m hoping she will be able to make a full recovery.’
Officers from Scotland Yard’s Sapphire Unit, which investigates rape
and sexual assault in the capital, have interviewed the victim in
hospital.
Mr Ellershaw said the girl told officers the attack went on for two
hours. Describing her walk home, the detective said: ‘At some point she
has become aware that someone was following her, and she crossed the
road a couple of times because of this.
‘Then she was dragged into a park and subjected to a brutal sexual assault.
‘She got back home at about 8pm – almost three and a half hours after
she got off the bus. Clearly that is a long time and witnesses may well
have seen her wandering the streets in a dishevelled state.’
Yesterday teams of officers made house-to-house inquiries in the hope
someone may have seen the attacker or the victim. Up to 60 officers are
working on the investigation.
Mr Ellershaw added: ‘We are concentrating all our efforts in
capturing this individual and we are conducting extra patrols in the
area to reassure the public and prevent any further attacks.’
‘We are interested in speaking to anyone in the Jubilee Park area
between 4.15pm and 7.45pm on Friday, and may have seen anyone acting
suspiciously or anyone following a girl in school uniform.’
Police described the suspect as a black male with afro hair wearing a dark grey top and black baggy jeans.
Local residents spoke of their disbelief that such an attack had happened within yards of commuters walking home.
Lewis Francis, 28, said: ‘I imagine the poor girl’s family must have
thought it would be safe for her to walk home in the afternoon from the
bus stop because lots of people are about at that time.
‘People I know are not going to let their children walk to school alone now – at least not until he is caught.’
Source: Daily Mail
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