Appeal after female dog walker sexually assaulted in woodland in Great Wyrley
Police have issued a fresh appeal for information about a woman was sexually assaulted in woodland by a man wearing a Covid mask and baseball cap.
The woman was walking her dog in woodland off Walsall Road, near to the Star Inn, in Great Wyrley, at around 5pm on Saturday when she was approached by the unknown man.
The man, who is described as having a local accent, then sexually assaulted her. He is described as white, around 5ft 10 tall with light-coloured hair and bushy eyebrows and aged in his late 20s.
At the time of the offence, he was wearing a faded black hooded top, a blue surgical Covid mask, a baseball cap with a black peak, black polyester jogging bottoms with a white stripe around the shin area. He was also wearing black trainers, similar to Nike Air trainers but unbranded.
He fled in the direction of Fishley Park.
Detective Inspector Bev Matthews, of the rape and serious sexual offences team at Staffordshire Police, said: “The woman is receiving care from specialist officers. Our thoughts are with her and her family.
“We have a very detailed description of the offender, and we hope someone may recognise the person described.
Potential witnesses
“It occurred in daylight hours and we are particularly interested in speaking to anyone who was walking their dog in the area and at or near The Star Inn. We are keen to speak to a man aged approximately 19, who was talking on his phone with his bike against a tree and a group of three women who were sitting on the grass area behind The Star Inn, as potential witnesses.
“We ask people in the area, and the areas surrounding, to review any CCTV or dash-cam footage they may have – you may well have captured the offender on camera and be able to give us valuable information about his direction of travel.
“I would like to reassure the community that we have a number of officers working on this case. In addition, we have additional patrols in the area of the incident.
“We are committed to tracing the person responsible and people in the area may notice an ongoing police presence while further enquiries are conducted."
Anyone with information is urged to call Staffordshire Police on 101, quoting incident number 631 of April 24. Alternatively, call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.
