Police appeal after sexual assault of young woman

The police have appealed for witnesses to the sexual assault of a young woman in the Bank Place area of Londonderry at the weekend.

Detectives say the victim, who is in her late teens, has been left traumatised and extremely distressed following the incident and specialist officers are continuing to support her.

It happened in the early hours of Saturday morning the day before a separate sexual assault of a woman in her 50s in the Lecky Road area of the city on Sunday.

Police have now pledged to put more uniformed and plain-clothes officers on patrol in the city over the busy Halloween period.

The suspect is described as a white male, believed to be 5' 10" in height, of medium to large build, wearing white trainers, dark jeans and a dark T-shirt with some type of marking or logo on the back.

Police have said they are checking CCTV in the Bank Place area and have also made a direct appeal to anyone who may have had any contact with the suspect or helped the victim in any way.

“To motorists, including any taxi drivers, if you have any dash cam footage from this area at this time, we are keen to hear from you," they said.

Increased patrols

Area commander of Derry City and Strabane Ch Supt Gillian Kearney said she wanted to reassure the public that officers "will be visible in communities, with an increased presence ahead of Halloween".

“Not only will the public see officers on the ground in uniform, but we will have officers in plain clothes, on patrol working to spot predatory behaviour in bars, nightclubs and on our streets," she said.

“We’re there to identify people who are displaying predatory behaviours including sexual harassment, inappropriate touching and loitering."