Woman pleads with rapist to hand himself in

A woman who was raped in Basildon has pleaded with her attacker to hand himself in.

One month on from the attack, police are still hunting for the man who sexually assaulted and raped a 21-year-old woman and are appealing for residents to come forward and help solve the "horrendous” crime.

The local woman had been walking along Clay Hill Road just after midnight on Tuesday, November 20, 2012 when she flagged down a driver near the Owl and The Pussycat pub.

She got into a silver saloon car and was driven to a car park area on Partridge Green where the driver then sexually assaulted and raped her.

Michelle, whose name has been changed, said: "This man has ruined my life. He took advantage of me that night and I am still reeling from what he forced me to do.

"I have many sleepless nights and have become withdrawn from friends and family. I just can’t understand what kind of a monster would do something like this.

"I may not have been his first victim. He may have raped or assaulted someone before. I don’t want another woman to be next. Words cannot describe this kind of ‘man’ and so I can only hope that he is caught before he can hurt anyone else.

"The police have supported me well, but there is only so much they can do. I don’t think I will rest easily until this man is found. He should be ashamed of his actions. He should be embarrassed by what he did and hand himself in.”

In two separate stop-checks, on the one and two-week anniversaries, officers spoke to over 50 motorists in a bid to identify the rapist or witnesses.

Leading the hunt for the rapist is Investigating Officer DI Mark Tyler. He said: "This was a particularly horrendous and vile assault on a defenceless woman. Any rape is brutal and savage, but what makes this particularly nasty is not only the age of the victim, but also the nature and voracity of the attack.

"We’re confident that the local community holds the key to identifying this man and we believe this because we think he lives locally as he knew the local road network layout. Michelle’s family is devastated.

"We have not had a great response from local people. In fact, we have only taken 10 calls into the incident room. This is disappointing. We would ask that people cast their minds back to the early hours of that Tuesday morning and if they were in the Partridge Green area then they should call us.

"Furthermore, this efit is distinctive and unique. We ask that people take a good look at it and contact us with a name. We don’t want him to strike again. It could be your daughter or partner next. To the rapist, we would say – everyone has heard what you’ve done. You know what you’ve done.”

The rapist is described as white and is in his late 30s or early 40s. He had very pale skin, spoke in broken English with a strong accent and has mousey-blonde short-cropped hair that is greying. He also has a bulbous nose and large, long hands. At the time, he was wearing a light hoodie and cotton trousers. He was driving a silver five-door car."

DI Tyler added: "With Christmas just a few days away and with office and private parties still in full swing, we want others to ensure they do return home safely. With this in mind, we would urge people to book taxis or travel home with friends.”

Anyone with information in connection with this rape is urged to contact detectives at Rayleigh’s Sexual Offences Investigation Team on 101, Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111 or email the incident room at SOIT@essex.pnn.police.uk