Dad tells of 'scary situation' after daughter, 14, sexually assaulted in Portsmouth while doing Christmas shopping

Police released an appeal to find a man with an Irish accent, thought to be around 30, who approached two girls before he sexually assaulted one of them at 6.30pm on October 30 in Commercial Road, Portsmouth, near the HSBC bank.

In the appeal last week, police mistakenly gave the wrong location of the incident – saying it happened in Fratton Road, at the junction with Lucknow Street, in Fratton at 7pm.

In the appeal, officers released an image of a man they wanted to speak to and said: ‘He attempted to grab one of them by the arm. He then inappropriately touched her over the top of her clothes.

‘The victim is being supported by specialist officers.’

The man was of average height, white, with a larger build and had brown hair that was gelled back and messy. He was wearing a green top and blue jeans.

The dad of the victim told The News: ‘My daughter and her friend were out Christmas shopping in the city and were making their way back to the train station when it happened.

‘It was a scary situation to be in. She is ok but had to take some time off work and has needed a bit of counselling.’

The parent, speaking of the initial appeal for information, added: ‘I’m not sure why police put it being in Fratton Road when it happened nowhere near there. I told them but they didn’t seem to listen and took several days to correct their mistake.

‘Hopefully people will still be able to help find the man.’

People are asked to call 101 and quote the crime reference number 44210438221.

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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