A quiet, suburban area of Sheffield has been rocked by the ‘shocking’ news of a teenager being sexually assaulted as she walked along a main road.
Wishing to remain anonymous, a Mount Pleasant Close resident who lives just metres from where the attack happened told us: “It’s disgusting frankly. I can’t believe it.
“I’ve been living here for 40 years now and nothing like this has ever happened.”
At 8am on Wednesday morning, a 13-year-old girl was walking on the busy stretch of road between Mount Pleasant Close and Lound Side when she was approached by an unknown man.
The man then proceeded to offer her a free bottle of the popular energy drink Prime before sexually assaulting her. However, she was able to run away and call for help.
Some locals have blamed the attack on an absence of policing in the area.
Mr Griffin of Backfield Rise added: “It’s a shocking incident and I think one of the main reasons for it is that there are never enough police around.
“There used to be a community policeman who was there and visible on the streets, he went into schools and all the children knew him but when he retired, they never replaced him.”
However, that view isn’t shared across the community with Liberal Democrat Councillor Alan Woodcock who represents East Ecclesfield, a ward covering Chapeltown, disagreeing.
“I feel extremely upset for the girl and her family. I hope that she is getting the help that she needs.”
“There isn’t a lack of policing though. When I was a younger lad 60 years ago, you saw a policeman on the end of every street. Those days have disappeared and will never come back, but the team that we have here are excellent. I don’t want to get into lack of funding or anything like that.”
The police have since arrested a 28-year-old man from Rotherham on Sunday 19 February in relation to the assault.
Insp Alec Gibbons said: “This was a very distressing incident for the young victim, and we are doing all we can to identify the offender.
“The young girl’s courage in running away and calling for help is commendable, and we are working closely with her and her family.
He added there will also be patrols throughout the rest of the school week to provide reassurance to both parents and children.
If you have any information that can help the police, please call 101 and quote the incident number 176 of 8 February when you get in touch.