Forest Hill ‘rapist’ snared by stolen iPhone

Pic: East London Lines

Quick-thinking officers arrested the suspect an hour after the robbery Photo: East London Lines

A man accused of going into a house and attempting to rape a woman while she slept was arrested after police tracked him down using a mobile phone he had stolen from her.

Police officers arrested the 30-year-old man less than an hour after the alleged attack on the woman in her bedroom in Forest Hill, South London this morning.

The woman said she awoke at 5am after the man put his hands around her neck.
She told police she struggled, screamed out and alerted a neighbour who called the police. Police say the suspect then fled the scene stealing the victims IPhone and Blackberry.

When the officers arrived they established that the victim had installed the ‘Find my IPhone’ app. This was immediately activated and the phone was quickly tracked to the suspect in Brixton. Police attended and found a man in possession of the two stolen phones. He was arrested on suspicion of attempted rape and robbery and taken to a South London Police Station.

DCI Pete Thomas, from Sapphire (Sexual Offences, Exploitation & Child Abuse Command) South East said: “It appears the victim was deliberately targeted as the ground floor window had been left open for ventilation.
“The victim showed remarkable bravery in confronting the suspect and was able to immediately call the police. Quick thinking officers from Lewisham activated the tracker on the phone to trace the man believed to be responsible for subjecting the victim to such a horrendous ordeal and Lambeth officers sought to quickly trace him in Brixton”.

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