Man detained on Rayners Road after report he was acting suspiciously

A 39-year-old man from Southwark has been arrested by police investigating a case of stalking and a series of indecent exposures offences in the Putney.

He was detained following a report of man acting suspiciously in Rayners Road, SW15 on Saturday, 17 April.

He was arrested on suspicion of indecent exposure, sexual assault and stalking offences as well as two unrelated matters.

Officers investigating had released an e-fit and CCTV images of a suspect after a woman in her thirties from Carlton Drive contacted them last August to report that she was being stalked. She had experienced a number of concerning events over the previous three weeks. The first incident involved items of underwear being taken off the clothes drier, which was outside in her garden.

About a week later, she noticed a footprint on her balcony following heavy rainfall. On Thursday, 1 August, her neighbours scared away a man who was looking into her room.

As a result she decided to install a security camera to monitor the area. At about 10pm on Friday, 9 August, the camera captured a man standing in the garden looking into the property at which point she phoned the police. Then on 1 September a man appeared on the video in the garden. The police search the area but could not find the man.

There were two subsequent incidents in which a man was filmed in the garden in October and November. On these occasions a balaclava was worn.

Further investigation led police to believe the suspect could be linked to a series of indecent exposure incidents reported in the nearby Putney Hill area between April 2019 and February 2020.

The suspect was detained at a west London police station and has since been bailed to a date in mid-May.

April 21, 2020