Detectives Appeal for Witness Following Reported Rape Incident

Detectives have issued a CCTV image for a witness to come forward who may have seen a woman in distress in Liverpool city centre last month.

In the early hours of Thursday 20 February it was reported that a male witness was walking along Vauxhall Road towards Leeds Street when he was approached by a woman who then continued to run on.

The woman was located and is receiving support from our specialist officers following a report that a rape took place earlier that night.

Detective Inspector Carla Cross said: “We are keen for the man in the CCTV image to come forward and help us with enquiries and assist the investigation to help identify the offender. 

“We are keen to stress that the man in the image is not in any trouble and there is no suggestion that they have done anything wrong. We would like him to come forward to assist with our enquiries.

“We recognise the image is not of the best quality but think that you would be able to identify yourself if you remembered the incident last month.”

If you have information on this incident please contact @MerPolCC on Twitter or ‘Merseyside Police Contact Centre’ on Facebook with reference 25000139459.

You can also call 101 or Crimestoppers, anonymously on 0800 555 111.

To report a sexual offence call 101 where you will be spoken to by specially trained officers or you can pass information to Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111. 

If you’ve been affected by sexual violence of any kind, support is available through the Police and Crime Commissioner’s Victim Care Merseyside service delivered jointly by two registered charities. In Liverpool, Sefton and Wirral, support is provided by Rape and Sexual Abuse Support (RASA) Merseyside who are available on 0151 558 1801 and, in St Helens and Knowsley, by the Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Centre (RASASC) Cheshire and Merseyside who can be contacted on 01925 221 546 or 0330 363 0063.

Please note: 'StreetSafe' is not for reporting crime or incidents. 

If something has happened to you or someone you know (including in public spaces online) you can call us on 101 or find out what online reporting services are available at StreetSafe | Police.uk (www.police.uk).