Dog Stops Suspected Rapist Following Park Attack
A 13-year-old boy was arrested on suspicion of raping a woman in a London park after a dog stopped him following the alleged incident, police said.
The woman, 35, was allegedly raped by two males in the bushes in Winn's Common, in Plumstead, southeast London, at about 11 p.m. on Tuesday. A passerby was able to detain the teenager using one of his dogs.
A Metropolitan Police statement said: "Police were called shortly before 11 p.m. on Tuesday, December 21, to Lakedale Road to reports of a rape of a woman by two males.
"Officers attended. It was reported that a 35-year-old woman was raped by two males in bushes.
"A member of the public, who was walking his dog, disturbed the suspects and assisted in detaining one of them at the scene. Inquiries continue."
A Metropolitan Police spokesperson confirmed to Newsweek that no other arrests have yet been made in connection with the alleged sexual assault.
Dog walker Sid Costello, 29, told the London Evening Standard he saw a distraught woman run out from the bushes before he performed a citizen's arrest.
Costello, who works for the local council, said two males appeared and attempted to approach the woman and shouted "it's cool boss" at him.
But, with the help of his American bulldogs Pablo, one, and Menace, eight months, he managed to stop one of the suspects following a short chase.
The dog walker added that the suspected rapist was forced onto his hands and knees until the police arrived.
Speaking to the London Evening Standard, Costello said: "I'm not a hero. They (the dogs) both are as far as I'm concerned.
"I love them, they are my babies. I say I have three boys at home: two dogs and my son. They are always kissing each other. They came back home after and went to bed like nothing had happened."
Earlier this week an Alburquerque, New Mexico, man was arrested for a 1997 rape after forensic genealogy connected his DNA to the crime and potentially to seven other sexual assault cases.
Edward Gilbert Duran, 63, was arrested on Tuesday morning over a rape that happened on July 7, 1997.
Shortly after the attack, the woman went to a hospital where a specialized sexual assault nurse collected DNA, according to KRQE. That same DNA was later used to arrest Duran for the rape.
