Schoolgirl ‘sexually assaulted’ by similar man on bus over a number of days as cops make arrest
A man in his 40s from Gloucester has been arrested after a schoolgirl reported being sexually assaulted on a bus over several days. Police are now appealing for information
Police were called to Churchdown, Gloucestershire, after the schoolgirl made several reports
A schoolgirl reported being sexually assaulted on the bus home over several days by a man as cops say they’ve now made an arrest.
Police were called to Churchdown, Gloucestershire, on Monday after receiving a report that a man was repeatedly approaching a girl as she waited for a bus home from school. Cops were told that when the girl and man got onto the bus, he allegedly touched her on the thigh and arm without her consent.
The suspect is also accused of making sexual comments towards the young girl. Similar incidents have been reported on Brookfield Road in Churchdown at around 3.30pm over several days, police said.
The schoolgirl called officers again on Wednesday to report that the same man was on the bus and had approached her again.
The bus driver was alerted and stopped the bus to prevent the man from being able to get off, reports the Sun. Police arrested a man in his 40s from Gloucester in connection with the incident. He has been released on conditional bail pending further inquiries.
Now, police are appealing to anyone with information to come forward.
Gloucestershire Constabulary is also appealing for anyone with mobile phone or CCTV footage that could be of use to contact the force immediately.
Meanwhile, the investigation into reports of a rape outside a church in Epsom that led to widespread public disorder will close as police are “confident there was no offence”. The reports sparked protests in the area that saw clashes with police.
Surrey Police received a report on Saturday, April 11, that a woman had been raped near a church in the early hours of the morning after leaving Labyrinth nightclub in Epsom.
There was some public anger that the force had not released the ethnicity of any suspects, leading to a number of protests in the town.
In an update on Thursday (April 22), the force said after a “thorough investigation” it became clear that the woman in her 20s suffered an accidental head injury following a night out, leading her to make a confused report.
“At the early stages of this investigation, we issued an appeal for any witnesses or information that could help us progress our inquiries and identify any potential suspects,” they said in a statement.
“There was a lack of information in our initial appeal particularly regarding potential persons of interest. This was because the descriptions given were vague and limited.
“We recognise this caused concern amongst the community. We are now confident that there was no offence, and there were no suspects.”
The force added its detectives carried out an “extensive examination” of CCTV footage of the woman’s movements, as well as house to house inquiries, interviews with witnesses, and forensic tests.
“To be clear, we take every report of sexual offending seriously, and any such report is treated with sensitivity,” the force added in its statement. “To do this, it is imperative that the appropriate time is allowed to complete a thorough investigation and support is given to the complainant to progress inquiries at their own pace. This limits what information we are able to release publicly.”
