Harpenden sex attacks: £10,000 reward offered 20 years on
- Published
Hertfordshire Police has produced an e-fit of the man suspected of carrying out the attacks 20 years ago
A £10,000 reward is being offered for information about sexual assaults on two teenagers 20 years ago.
A 16-year-old girl was grabbed from Piggottshill Lane, in Harpenden, in Hertfordshire on 7 April 2002.
Two months later, a 17-year-old girl was forced into a car by a man while she was walking along Wheathampstead Road in the town.
Crimestoppers, which is offering the money, said the two attacks were being treated as linked.
The 16-year-old was dragged into a nearby field between 18:00 and 18:30 BST, where she was forced to perform sexual acts.
Slightly late in the evening on 19 June, the 17-year-old was driven down Piggottshill Lane to a wood where a similar assault took place.
It is thought the man used a silver Vauxhall Astra with a C or D registration in the first attack, and a red M-registration car, of a similar size to a Vauxhall Corsa, in the second.
The suspect was described as having tanned or dark skin, between 5ft 7in (170cms) and 5ft 9in (175cms) tall, with dark hair and aged in his late 30s.
No suspect has ever been identified.
'Harrowing ordeal'
Det Insp Justine Jenkins, from the Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Major Crime Unit, said that as the attacker was driving, it was "possible that he was not local".
"The victims endured a harrowing ordeal and until the attacker is found, they are without closure," she said.
"Any information you can give us is just as important now as it was then."
Crimestoppers' reward was for anonymous information it exclusively receives that leads to a conviction.
South East regional manager, Annabelle Goodenough, said: "We know it can be difficult to speak up about someone you suspect may be involved in a serious crime, especially if they are close to you - this is why our charity is here to help."
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