"Predatory" rapist believed to have followed teen

Saturday 02 November 2019

The man wanted for the rape of a teenage girl at a bus stop is believed to have followed his victim from her friend's house before committing the "opportunistic attack", the detective leading the 24-officer-strong manhunt has said.

Detective Superintendent Stewart Gull described the assault, which happened in the early hours of Friday morning at the bus shelter next to Longbeach car park on La Rue à Don in Grouville, as "predatory".

He told Express that the violent assault took place “during a really tight time period” between 23:55 and 00:05 while the victim, a girl in her late teens, was waiting for a lift home.

She was waiting at the bus shelter situated at the end of the Common where Gouray Village Main Road meets La Rue à Don, on the side of the golf course. 

“She had been with friends, it was obviously Halloween so lot of people out and about last night with friends and family,” Mr Gull explained. “That had come to an end and she left her friends and contacted her mum, who agreed to come and collect her from that point.” 

Pictured: The assault took place between 23:55 and 00:05.

The man, who was not known to the victim, walked by and asked if she needed a lift. The girl declined, but the man returned several minutes later. He offered again to drive the girl home, but she refused. He then raped her.

“I think she was overpowered and he took control of her. It happened quite quickly,” Mr Gull said.

The girl told the police she had a feeling he had followed her from where she had come from in Gorey Village. 

While he offered the girl a lift, the man arrived and left the scene on foot. Mr Gull said a car was heard shortly after the attack and that Police are aiming to establish whether it was the perpetrator.

He is described as being about 5’9, of a stocky and muscular build, with thick brown hair and a short brown/grey beard. 

According to Police, he was wearing a large padded coat, which was too big for him, and a black hat believed to be a flat cap. He was also reported as having an accent, suspected to be Mediterranean or Portuguese. 

Pictured: 24 officers are working on the case.

After the incident, the girl contacted her mum, who then called the police.

Mr Gull said: “We understand sometimes we don’t always get immediate reports - sexual assaults have a different impact on different people.

“But in this case, it was an early report, which is always helpful because it allows us to maximise the opportunity to secure and preserve any evidence and importantly identify and arrest the offender.”

24 officers are currently working on the investigation. The bus shelter was cordoned off for most of the morning to allow the forensic investigation to take place. Meanwhile, the victim received support from staff at the Sexual Assault Referral Centre at Dewberry House and specially trained police officers.

Pictured: The shelter was cordoned off for most of the morning as officers collected evidence.

The Detective Superintendent said one of the lines of enquiry officers are pursuing is obtaining CCTV footage.

While the Grouville area is not as well covered as St. Helier, for example, the Force remains confident that some images will be available. 

“Unlike an urban area where there are perhaps more CCTV opportunities, obviously Grouville is one of our more rural parishes,” Mr Gull said. “But there will still be CCTV opportunities from commercial premises, businesses and even some dwelling, houses, and properties.

“A lot of people have dash cams in their cars now so we would appeal for anybody that was in and around Grouville or who passed through Grouville on the main road at about midnight last night to have a think, you know, did they see this man?”

Pictured: Police are hoping to hear from anyone who may have footage of the area.

Mr Gull described the attack as "opportunistic", noting the girl does not frequent the area very often. “Why was he there?” he said.

“This was clearly an opportunist attack because the victim hadn’t planned to be there. It’s not a regular occurrence for her to be there at that particular time. But the attack clearly has predatory characteristics, he clearly identified her, engaged her, then went and then came back again.”

He reassured the public that incidents of this nature are “incredibly rare” and that in the eight years he has been in the island, he has only seen two cases of this nature.

“I know the Grouville community and perhaps the whole island community will have some concerns about it, and that’s understandable. But it’s important to understand that these are very rare events but clearly we are determined to identify this offender as quickly as possible so that we can arrest him and then charge him.” 

Pictured: Police want to hear from anyone who may have any information about the incident, however insignificant it might seem.

Police have appealed for anyone with any information about the incident, no matter how insignificant it might be, to get in touch.

Despite the wind and rain, Mr Gull said that some nearby residents may have heard the girl scream or may have seen the man walking to and from the scene.

“I’d ask people just to have a think,” the Superintendent said. “Think about the description of the man. Does it ring any bells? Why was he there last night? Does he live there? Was he visiting?

"Does he work there and he just sort of finished work? Was he visiting friends?  What was his primary purpose there? This was an opportunistic attack, so he will have had a reason to be there in the first place.”