Serial rape police investigate attack

A rapist who has struck nine times since November

Police are trying to establish whether a serial sex attacker has struck again, following the rape of a 14-year-old girl.

The teenager was grabbed from behind and dragged into woodland as she walked home in Stevenage, Hertfordshire, on Friday evening.

Details of the attack are being studied by detectives working on Operation Orb, an investigation into eight linked rapes and one assault in London and the south east since November of last year.

They are also looking at an attack on a 15-year-old girl, who was grabbed by a man in Fetcham, Surrey, at 0030 BST on Saturday.

She was able to struggle free and immediately informed police, who have stressed that no link has yet been to the serial rapist.

'Open mind'

Following the Stevenage rape a police spokeswoman said detectives were not ruling out the possibility it was linked to Operation Orb.

This was a very frightening ordeal for this girl and it is vital that anyone with information contacts my team immediately

Detective Inspector Greg Cooper

"However, until detectives have the results of the forensic examinations, which are expected on Tuesday, it is not possible to give a definitive answer and officers are keeping an open mind," she added.

The 14-year-old told police that she heard the sound of running and had stopped to let the person pass when she was attacked.

Police are appealing for witnesses, particularly a moped driver who rode past the assault and an elderly woman who was walking a white dog just before the offence took place, to come forward.

Detective Inspector Greg Cooper, of Hertfordshire Police, said: "This was a very frightening ordeal for this girl and it is vital that anyone with information contacts my team immediately.

"We are continuing to search the area and are carrying out house to house inquiries so that we can collate as much information as we can to assist us in this investigation."

Serial rapist

The hunt for the serial rapist, who has struck in Kent, Surrey, London and the Thames Valley, involves four police forces.

Officers believe the man attacked a 10-year-old girl in Ashford, Kent, and women in Wimbledon and Putney in London, Bracknell in Berkshire and Epsom in Surrey.

The last incident was on September 16 when a 22-year-old woman was assaulted while walking her dog in Ripley Green, Surrey.

After raping a 26-year-old woman on Putney Common on 11 July, he used her mobile phone to call her mother and said: "I've just raped your daughter."