The Met Police has released an image of a man they are trying to trace in connection with an allegation of rape in Merton.
Police were called shortly after 07:00 hrs to the North Place area on Tuesday, 3rd November.
A spokesperson for the Met confirmed that a teenage girl is currently being supported by specialist SOIT officers.
No arrests have yet been made, and a crime scene remains in place.
A video has been shared on social media which shows the moment when the male is confronted by a member of the public who had become concerned for the welfare of the girl after she was led down an alleyway by the suspect
In the footage, the good samaritan follows the male as he disappears out of view.
After about 30 seconds, the person filming catches up with the male and shouts: “Let her go. What are you doing with her?”
The male replies by saying that the girl is his sister.
Not convinced by his response, the good samaritan shouts: “What are you doing with her?” as she continues to close in on the suspect.
The male replies by saying: “bro, this is mans family, bruv, move. Are you nuts?”
The good samaritan continues to bravely walk after the male, as he tries to lead the female away from the scene.
The male repeats: “This is mans family” to which the person filming asks: “So what are you doing in the corner with her?”
The female following the suspect then repeatedly asks the girl: “Are you ok?” but she does not get a response from either the suspect, or the victim.
The male then turns towards the female witness and shouts: “Don’t follow me, bro”.
When the witness catches up with the duo, the male suspect walks off, leaving the teenage girl behind.
The witness immediately asks the girl: “Are you ok? Do you know him?”
The young girl starts crying and confirms that she does not know the male.
Hugging the good samaritan, the girl then cries: “I’m really scared, I’m really scared”.
Detective Inspector Laura Semple, of the South West Command Unit, said:
“The victim and her family are receiving support from specially trained officers.
“We have released an image of a man we would like to speak to and urge anyone who can help us trace him to contact police immediately.”
A spokesperson for the Met Police said:
“A police investigation is underway, and people are asked to please be mindful of sharing information via social media that could identify the alleged victim, or affect any potential future proceedings”.
Any witnesses or those who have information that could assist police is asked to call 101 ref CAD V184/20.
Alternatively, tweet @MetCC, or contact Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.
To stay up-to-date with more news relating to the frontline work of the emergency services, then remember to follow us on Twitter.
Our handle is @ES_News_ and remember to also subscribe to our free newsletter so that you never miss out on our top stories and videos – Subscribe HERE.
Got a story? please email our team: contact@emergency-services.news
Before you go...
We need your help. As former emergency services & armed forces personnel, we pride ourselves on bringing you important, fast-moving and breaking news stories which are free from the negative bias which is often directed at the emergency services by some sections of the mainstream media.
One of the reasons we started 'Emergency Services News' was because we became tired of reading badly informed stories about the emergency services which seemed only ever to highlight negative aspects of the job.
We want to be the unheard voice of the remarkable men and women who serve in the emergency services, NHS and armed forces. And with around 500k page views each month, we are getting there!
As income from ads, the mainstay source of income for most publishers, continues to decline; we need the help of our readers.
And remember, if you have a service, product or job vacancy that you would like to promote to our large readership, then you can buy advertising space in our articles.
You can support emergency services news from as little as £1. It only takes a minute. Every contribution, however big or small, is vital for our future.
Please help us to continue to highlight the life-saving work of the emergency services, NHS and armed forces by becoming a supporter.
