Police want to question man in connection with four assaults

Police have released an efit image of a man they would like to question in connection with four sexual assaults on women in Chiswick.

The suspect is described as a white male with tanned skin, between 5ft 4ins to 5ft 8ins tall, aged 25 to 30, stocky or athletic build with brown hair. All four women have told police that he spoke to them in Spanish, and at the time of the assaults was wearing a beanie hat and carrying a rucksack.

On Friday, 14 November at 8.15pm the man approached a woman near a bus stop in Chiswick High Road. He claimed he was lost and trying to get to Hammersmith. The woman, aged in her early 30s, told him she was going in the same direction and would show him the bus stop. As they reached the bus stop the suspect sexually assault her, the woman defended herself and the man ran off.

On Saturday, 15 November at 2am a woman, aged in her mid 30s, got out of a taxi near The George IV pub on Chiswick High Road. As she walked along Dukes Avenue, near to Hadley Gardens, she was approached by a man matching the suspect's description. He spoke to her in Spanish, before following into Barrowgate Road. The man pushed her to the ground and sexually assaulted her. The woman defended herself and he then ran off in the direction of Sutton Court Road.

About three hours later that same day at 5am, a woman, aged in her mid 20s, was walking to work when she heard footsteps behind her as went along Ravenscourt Park, W6. The man, matching the suspect's description and also speaking to her in Spanish, caught up with her. He then sexually assaulted her, before she resisted and he ran away.

The fourth incident happened on Sunday, 30 November at 3am in Sharon Road, W4. A woman, aged in her late 30s, got off a bus in Turnham Green Terrace. As she walked from Chiswick High Road into Dukes Avenue a man matching the suspect's description and also speaking to her in Spanish. When she was in Sharon Road, the suspect sexually assaulted her before he was disturbed by a member of the public.

Map shows Sharon Road

Two other assaults on women had previously been linked to the same suspect but police are no longer connecting incidents that occurred on 24 November on Fishers Lane and Kingscote Road to the same suspect.

Detective Chief Inspector Mark Broom, from Hounslow CID, said: "I want the public's help to find this man. It is a very clear e-fit and someone will know who he is. Each of the women he has approached has fought him off and on occasion he was disrupted by a member of the public, preventing him from continuing the assault. Fortunately no one has suffered serious injury, but these assaults have been very distressing for all the women.

"Given the similarities of the assaults, the matching descriptions of the man, and the fact he is speaking Spanish on each occasion we are treating these cases as linked. One line of enquiry we are exploring is that he is not Spanish but is using his language skills to help hide his identity.

"My officers are working hard to trace this man, and we want to do that before he has the opportunity to assault another woman. We have increased our highly visible patrols in the areas where we know he operates, and those will continue until he is caught.

"I would urge anyone who has any information about his identity of where he is to call us on 020 8247 6650, or 101, or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111."

December 5, 2014