Hamilton

Indecent Assault

Friday, 19 December 2014 - 11:17am

Waikato

19 December 2014

Hamilton Police say support from the public following widespread media coverage and enhanced forensic analysis techniques contributed towards the arrest of a man in relation to a high profile indecent assault in the City.

Detective Sergeant Will Loughrin of the Hamilton CIB said the today's arrest follows the attack on a 33-year-old woman in a park by Hamilton's Lake Rotoroa on 22 May this year.

"What was particularly callous about this incident was that it occurred in broad daylight, shortly before midday, when the man approached the woman asking for the time and then followed her before making his attack.

"He tried to thwart a member of the public who came to the victim's aid by telling her that the victim was his ex-partner and it was a domestic incident but the passer-by persisted and the offender fled when she went to call Police and we can't speak highly enough of the value of this person's intervention."

Another aspect of great value to Police leading up to the 25-year-old man's arrest was the large response from the public following media coverage of the incident.

"While this response didn't lead to a specific break through it greatly assisted us in building up a background and when new forensic enhancements became available we were able to put this to good use in identifying a man we believe to be the offender."

Mr Loughrin said it would be unwise to speak on specifics around the forensics so as not to make potential other offenders more forensically aware but what he could say is that this arrest highlights how criminal science is a continually evolving discipline which can often offer investigators new insights.

"The other thing it shows is that Police, and the public, take such incidents very seriously and cases like this don't get closed, they remain open awaiting that small piece than can help complete the puzzle and we will hold offenders to account for their actions."

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