Chelmsford: Man charged with robbery and sexual assault

UPDATE: Tuesday 19 September

A man has been charged with robbing and sexually assaulting a woman in Chelmsford after a thorough investigation by our detectives and police staff.

Reece Parkes, 32, of Fairway Drive, Chelmsford, appeared before magistrates on Monday (18 September), where he was remanded in custody until a hearing at Chelmsford Crown Court on Monday 16 October.

This follows a call from a member of the public shortly before 6.25pm on Monday 11 September, reporting a woman had been assaulted while walking in an area which is popular with dog walkers, close to Mill Lane.

It was reported she was walking her dog when she was approached by a man, who assaulted her from behind before demanding money.

Officers swiftly launched an investigation into this incident, which continues to move at pace.

Our enquiries resulted in an arrest on Sunday (17 September).

Detective Chief Inspector Rob Huddleston, of North LPA CID, said:

“We have moved quickly to investigate this violent incident and safeguard the victim.
“This involved extensive examination of CCTV, house-to-house enquiries and working to obtain accounts from the victim and witnesses.
“Tackling violence in all its forms is an absolute priority for us all within the force.”

Sunday 17 September

Detectives investigating an incident during which a woman was robbed have arrested a man.

This follows a call from a member of the public shortly before 6.25pm on Monday 11 September, reporting a woman had been assaulted while walking in an area which is popular with dog walkers, close to Mill Lane.

It was reported she was walking her dog when she was approached by a man, who assaulted her from behind before demanding money.

Officers swiftly launched an investigation into this incident, which continues to move at pace.

Our enquiries resulted in the arrest of a 32-year-old man, from Chelmsford. He was arrested by officers from our operational support group in Witham in the early hours of this morning, Sunday 17 September. 

He remains in custody being questioned on suspicion of robbery.

We continue to appeal for anyone who may have been in the area at the time, particularly between the hours of 6pm and 7.30pm, to come forward.

'Serious investigation but incidents are thankfully rare'

Detective Chief Inspector Rob Huddleston, of North LPA CID, said:

“This is a busy area popular with walkers and residents.
“I would ask people to reflect on whether they were in the area shortly before and after this incident, and if so, urge them to reach out to us with any piece of information – no matter how small.
“I would continue to stress that whilst we are treating this investigation very seriously, incidents of this nature thankfully remain very rare.
“My team have worked with diligence to get to the stage of making an arrest, but our work will continue as we quickly establish the circumstances leading up to this incident.”

If you have any information, CCTV, dash cam or other footage in relation to this incident, then please get in contact with us.

You can let us know by submitting a report online or by using our Live Chat service.

Live Chat is an online service available on our website Monday to Friday (excluding public holidays) between 10am-9pm, where you can send and receive real-time direct messages with an online digital 101 operator.

To use the service, select the ‘Live Chat’ icon at the bottom right of your screen when you're on our website. It can be accessed from a desktop computer, laptop, tablet or mobile phone.

Alternatively you can call us on 101.

To find out more about the different reporting services visit our 'Help Us Help You' webpage. 

Please quote incident 1177 of 11 September when providing any information to make sure it gets to the right person as quickly as possible.

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