The Echo reported on Friday how the girl was in Sunningdale Avenue at about 10pm on July 6 when a man pulled up alongside her in a car and asked her if she wanted a lift.
She refused, but the man stopped the car and got out. He came towards her and grabbed her arm. She shoved him and ran off.
Her dad, who didn’t want to be named, said the police officer who dealt with the incident had been very good.
But the father was frustrated that it seemed no progress was being made.
He said: “My daughter made a 999 call and the police got there an hour and three quarters later. I was knocking on the doors at midnight asking if anyone had seen this particular vehicle.”
I expect they had to deal with more important issues, like Shahneesha calling Kylie a slag on social media.
He said he felt information should have been released sooner.
He said: “It is lucky my daughter is quite aggressive, but it has still shaken her up.
“She was screaming and yelling at him. At that time, someone might know something, but two weeks down the line, maybe not.”
Well, it's Essex. And leave aside the potential for this to be yet another false panic, the response seems typically lackadaisical and the report the usual confusion:
The man drove off in a dark, old-style, possibly four-door, saloon-style car. He is described as Asian, in his late thirties to early forties, 5ft 7ins tall, stocky with a chubby or fat, bloated, stomach.
He had short dark hair, is clean shaven with a clean, clear complexion.
He wore a long-sleeved, yellow, orange and brown checked shirt, straight fit-style trousers and had a strong Asian accent.
Chinese? Thai?
The Echo reported on Tuesday how a 12-year-old girl was invited to get into a man’s car as she walked in Kingswood Chase, Leigh, at 3.10pm on Friday, July 12. The girl ignored him and the man drove off.
So, there's been another report? Same man?
Police say they are not linking the two incidents in Leigh.
The driver who approached the 17-year-old girl is described as Asian while in the second incident, in Kingswood Chase, the driver is described as white, in his fifties or sixties with a weathered face. He is small, with thin arms.
So two potential predators. Not sure that's a cause for celebration.
A police spokesman said: “In each instance, there could be an alternative explanation of the actions of both men.
Oh, really? That I'd
love to hear!
“With this in mind, we would urge the men to come forward and clarify their actions and intentions. “
/facepalm
“Due to the ages of both victims, special interviews have to be conducted with parents present.”
For the 12 year old, maybe. But for the 17 year old? And isn't there any sense of
urgency about this?
The spokesman added the first incident was on a busy evening for police and as the girl was safely with friends when she reported it, there was no urgent need for them to attend.
He said: “Officers looked at number plate recognition cameras and found more than 400 activations of black vehicles. In the second incident, details of the car were circulated to all officers in the area and a search was carried out, along with house-to-house enquiries. We established there was no CCTV.”
And with that, your efforts ceased?
Her dad, who didn’t want to be named...
ReplyDeleteProbably to match the birth certificate, maybe?
"The man drove off in a dark, old-style, possibly four-door, saloon-style car."
Dark car? Got it. Possibly dark blue, dark red, dark green, or even brown as it's an older motor. So hard to tell under Sodium street lights but at least it's narrowed it down a little.
“Officers looked at number plate recognition cameras and found more than 400 activations of black vehicles.
Black? Are you sure you don't want to look at a few navy blues ones too? Just in case.
Tsk, tsk, Julia! Didn't you know that Muslims are permitted to have sex with children? It's perfectly legal. The Koran says so, and, of course, we've had it proved recently by the fact that Joyce Thacker, head of the Rotherham SS, hasn't been prosecuted as an accessory after the fact in a case of paedophile rape. If it were illegal for Muslims to rape children, doubtless the South Yorkshire Police would have made arrests.
ReplyDelete"Black? Are you sure you don't want to look at a few navy blues ones too? Just in case. "
ReplyDeleteWell, you don't want them to start profiling vehicles on the basis of colour, do you? Whatever would new peer Doreen say?
"If it were illegal for Muslims to rape children, doubtless the South Yorkshire Police would have made arrests."
Heh!
I think you have been watching too many CSI's Julia.
ReplyDeleteCrime isn't always solved in an hour.
Jaded.
“With this in mind, we would urge the men to come forward and clarify their actions and intentions. “
ReplyDeleteActually that's a standard tactic: let the guy know you're looking for him, and then say, 'look, we realise it's all probably just a misunderstanding, come and talk to us and we'll get it sorted out.'
It's just possible that the miscreant is exactly the kind of sociopath who reckons they can outsmart the police and will therefore respond to such apparent stupidity by turning up with a rehearsed story about how they were only trying to help a girl who seemed to be out alone and their innocent actions were misinterpreted.
At which point the book can br thrown at them.
So there's a chance the guy is stupid enough that by saying 'it's all a misunderstanding, just come and talk to us' the police will actually get the guy to walk through the door. And if he doesn't, what have they lost?
(Just as long as their entire strategy doesn't rely on him being that stupid. But if he is, no point in not taking advantage of it).