17 year old guilty of sexual assaults in South Norwood Country Park

A 17-year-old boy has been found guilty of multiple sexual assaults in South Norwood Country Park earlier this year.

The teenager, who cannot be named, was convicted at Wimbledon Youth Court on Wednesday of three counts of sexual assault, two counts of theft and one count of robbery.

He will be sentenced on Thursday, October 31 at the same court.

Detectives launched an appeal after four separate women reported they had been sexually assaulted and/or robbed by a man while they walked their dogs through the park between May 3 and July 21.

All of the victims, aged between 45 and 63, were alone at the time of the incidents.

Additional patrols were put in place and on Monday, July 1 the defendant was arrested at his home address after CCTV footage analysis led to his identification.

A sim card registered to him was later found to have been used in a phone stolen from one of the victims.

Detective Constable Kathlyn Stanley-Quist, who led the investigation, said: “The defendant in this case brazenly targeted women who were alone in a park they used regularly – a community space in which they should have felt safe.

“These victims were left traumatised by these attacks and have had to relive their experiences again during this trial.

“This was a complex and fast-moving investigation in which the team trawled through hours of CCTV; this ultimately led to the identification of the victim.

“We are also grateful to those members of the public who assisted us in identifying and locating the defendant so quickly.

“We hope this conviction brings the victims in this case some form of closure and demonstrates our commitment to getting dangerous individuals off the streets of London.”