Police investigate potential serial assaulter after two weekend sex attack victims in Londonderry held at knifepoint
Police are investigating whether two sex attacks in Londonderry over the weekend could be the work of a serial assaulter.
Saturday afternoon saw a broad-daylight attack on a woman in her forties, who was approached by a knife-wielding man in the Waterside area of the city.
The perpetrator, described as a 5’11 white man in his twenties armed with a kitchen knife, grabbed at the woman while she walked her dog in Top Of The Hill Park.
She swung her dog lead at him, causing him to flee.
The Saturday afternoon incident followed an assault on woman in her twenties in Drumahoe Park on Friday night, which saw her punched and pulled into trees before she was forced to the ground at knifepoint.
The woman struggled with her attacker, striking him in the face several times with a torch before she was able to break free and run for help.
Police are now checking into whether or not the same man was behind both attacks.
But the PSNI have clarified that there’s no connection between the two latest incidents and two other sex crimes that happened during the previous week.
On October 27, a violent sexual assault is alleged to have happened in the Lecky Road area, and an alleged rape in the Bank Place area was reported to the police on October 31.
Revealing that the PSNI have stepped up patrols across Londonderry in reaction to the spate of sex attacks, Detective Inspector Ross Olphert said: “We understand that there will be concern in the community at a second knifepoint attack on a woman in just two days, with this latest one occurring during daylight hours.
"However, I can assure residents that a focused, tactical patrolling plan – which includes a high visibility police presence in key areas such as our local parks – has been implemented and there will be an increased police presence across the city in coming days.
"Whilst we are carrying out a number of enquiries to establish if there is any definitive link between these two attacks [over the weekend], I can assure residents that there is no link to attacks in the city centre last week. In both of those cases a suspect has been identified and those cases are ongoing.”
Reacting to the latest assaults, Foyle DUP MLA Gary Middleton said he’s ‘greatly concerned about the number of attacks on women in our society’.
"These acts of violence are wholly unacceptable,” he said.
"I urge anyone with information to come forward. We must stand together to ensure that our communities are safe and that perpetrators are held accountable.”
SDLP MLA Sinéad McLaughlin revealed that terrified women around Londonderry are already sharing details of self-defence classes while expressing fears of travelling alone.
"Mothers are having to caution their daughters to take care when out and about,” she said. “This should not be happening.
“Every woman lives with the fear that something like this could happen to them. This has been tolerated within our society for far too long, we have a serious issue here and we have to get to grips with it.”
She added that she plans to raise the issue in Stormont over the coming days.