Detectives investigating after a 14-year-old girl was sexually assaulted while on a 140 bus in Harrow have released images of a man they would like to speak to in connection with the incident.
Detective Constable Charlotte Joseph, from the Met’s Roads and Transport Policing Command, said: “No woman or girl should face this kind of behaviour when simply trying to use public transport. I want to commend her bravery for recognising this behaviour was wrong and reporting what happened to police.
“Our investigation shows that prior to the assault on a 14-year-old the man did a similar thing to another woman. From our records, it does not appear that this was reported to police and we would encourage her to come forward. In both circumstances the man trapped the victim so she cannot move away from him and brazenly carries out his attack in broad daylight on a bus full of people.
“These are incredibly clear images and I am confident that someone would be able to identify who this is. It is really important that we speak to this man as part of our investigation.”
Both assaults took place around 08:00hrs on the 140 bus toward Harrow Weald on Wednesday, 27 September.
The 14-year-old girl was stood in the area marked out for disabled passengers near the stairs.
A man, described as being in his 50s with glasses and moustache, moved to stand near her. He trapped her and prevented her from moving. He then proceeded to touch her inappropriately twice.
The girl managed to push past him as other passengers moved to get off the bus and promptly reported him to the police.
As officers investigated, they found CCTV footage which captured the man assaulting a different woman by trapping her and touching her inappropriately before assaulting the young girl.
If you have any information that might assist police in identifying this man, or you recognise yourself in the image, then please call police on 101 and quote CAD2850/20NOV.
To remain anonymous you can call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
