Police have issued a description of a suspect wanted in connection with the rape of a woman in Dundee.
The 20-year-old was attacked on Brook Street – near Brook Gardens – in the West End of the city at around 1am on Sunday, just before the clocks went back.
Officers say the suspect is described as a man, aged about 20, who had brown hair with a fringe.
He was wearing a navy hooded top at the time.
‘Particularly distressing assault’
Several students living in the area have now expressed their concerns about walking alone at night.
Detective Inspector Marcus Lorente said: “This was a particularly distressing assault for the victim and we are providing her with all the necessary support that she needs.
“I would like to reassure the local community that we are doing everything we can to identify the man responsible.
“A police presence will continue in the area, with the inquiry team consisting of local officers and detectives from Police Scotland’s specialist crime division.
“Officers have been carrying out door to door inquiries and reviewing CCTV footage from the surrounding areas for any information that could assist the investigation.
“The streets were busy with people and students following Halloween celebrations and parties and we would like to speak to anyone who may have seen anything suspicious or saw a man matching this description to come forward.”
DI Lorente added: “I would again appeal to local residents who may have private CCTV or camera doorbells to get in touch, you may have captured something that could assist our inquiries.
“I would also appeal to taxi drivers and motorists to come forward if you have dashcam footage.”
Anyone with information is being asked to call 101 quoting reference number 0647 of October 30, or contact Crimestoppers confidentially on 0800 555 111.
‘I’ve never felt unsafe in this area before’
One student who lives nearby told The Courier she is concerned about walking home from her job late at night.
She said: “I work in a bar and obviously come home late three nights a week late – so I feel like that’s a bit worrying.
“I’ve never felt unsafe in this area before.
“I walked home by myself from a party the same night (as the attack) at 2am so I feel uneasy thinking, had I been there an hour earlier, could that have been me?
“My flatmates are just saying I need to be careful coming home from work.”
It’s Halloween tonight so I think all of us are pretty scared to go out”
The attack happened just a short walk away from where a man raped a teenage student in a car park in 2017.
A resident of Brook Gardens said: “We have no idea what’s actually happened, so that’s kind of scary in the sense of, is it actually someone going about?
“Obviously it’s Halloween tonight so I think all of us are pretty scared to go out.
“It usually feels pretty safe around here because it’s all students and there’s always someone kind of looking out.
“We’re a bit uneasy but we’re OK. We’re all girls so we’ve just got to be careful going home by ourselves.”
Others on the street are now taking extra precautions when going out at night and are advising each other not to walk in the dark.
One student who lives on Brook Close said: “Everyone in the house is a bit worried – my flatmate didn’t go to the gym by herself last night.
“A couple of our flatmates have said we shouldn’t go out at night on our own but we’re always quite careful anyway.”
