Unsolved rape inquiry wound down

Police said Geoff Cole was the victim of false paedophile rumours

An inquiry into the rape of a man in a village is being effectively ended because of a lack of information.

Geoff Cole was raped in Resolven, near Neath, while walking his dog, after falsely being branded a paedophile.

The 59-year-old waived his anonymity to speak on BBC One's Crimewatch programme following the attack in October 2005.

Police said the public response to appeals had been "poor" and all lines of inquiry exhausted, although the case would be subject to periodic review.

Mr Cole contributed to a Crimewatch reconstruction of the attack which happened as he walked his dogs in heavy rain at 2245 GMT on Tuesday, 18 October, 2005.

He was dragged to the ground moments after seeing a man loitering alongside the road and apparently talking into a mobile phone.

He told the programme, broadcast in April: "I don't think people will ever realise what we've been through and still are going through.

"I've been a victim of lies. I've been a victim of being called a paedophile.

The attacker warned Mr Cole to stay away Resolven's Cory Street

"I've been a victim of being raped by vigilantes in Resolven for something I haven't done."

The only clue to the attacker was the warning he gave Mr Cole to "stay away from Cory Street" in Resolven.

Detectives said he underwent an "extremely traumatic experience" but no-one from the "close-knit community" had come forward.

Detective Inspector Wayne Thomas who led the inquiry said despite the nationwide television appeal and high profile coverage in the local media police had received few leads.

He told the South Wales Evening Post: "We are effectively putting the investigation to bed because we have exhausted every conceivable line of inquiry.

"The scale of the investigation has been absolutely phenomenal and so it is particularly disappointing we have had such a poor response.

"The case will not be closed completely and will be subject to periodic reviews.

"I am still convinced someone from the community holds the answers."

He said an independent review team would also look at the investigation to make sure nothing was missed.