Police plea for help with manhunt after woman is raped in Newcastle's Leazes Park
Northumbria Police has launched a manhunt after a woman was raped by an unknown man in a Newcastle city centre park.
The woman reported she had been attacked near the basketball and tennis courts by the Leazes Crescent entrance to the park, on Friday 1 April at about 6:30pm.
The victim has since been offered support by specially-trained officers.
Extensive enquiries are ongoing, including a review of CCTV to identify the person responsible and additional patrols have been conducted.
Officers are now asking for the public's help and have issued a description of the offender provided by the victim.
The man is described as:
Being in his early 30s
About 5ft 10ins tall
Medium built
Curly mousey brown hair which was shaved at the sides and long on the top
He had a black beard
He was well spoken with a local accent
He was wearing grey joggers and a great leather jacket with a fur collar, over a dark blue Nike T-shirt with a large white tick
He was carrying a large green rucksack with black stripes
Detective Chief Inspector Alan Cairns, confirmed extra police patrols are taking place in the area and has urged anyone with information of the attack to come forward.
Detective Cairns said: "This is an extremely difficult time for the victim, and I want to begin by praising her bravery in coming forward. We will continue to support her in any way we can.
“Our officers have been working tirelessly to identify the person responsible, carrying out a range of enquiries and we are now appealing for anyone who lives locally, uses the park frequently, or thinks they might have information to come forward.
"From the description provided by the victim, this may spark someone’s memory, or encourage a dog walker, passer-by or someone who was in the nearby area to get in touch.
"We know incidents of this nature can cause concern in our communities and we will be continuing to carry out extra patrols to offer reassurance.
"We are committed to doing all we can to support the victim while bringing the person responsible to justice.”
Anyone who has any information is asked to contact police via the Tell Us Something pages of the Northumbria Police website, or contact 101 quoting reference NP-20220401-1038 or contact independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.