A man has appeared in court accused of raping a woman in the Rising Sun Country Park.
Alan Anthony Rothwell, 34, of of Mowbray Street, in Heaton, Newcastle, has been charged with rape and was in the dock at Newcastle Magistrates' Court on Saturday. Details have not been released on next court appearance and remand or bail status at this stage.
As previously reported, a woman reported she had attacked in the Rising Sun Country Park, in Benton, on Monday, March 28, at about 4.10pm near the Pit Heap area.
DCI Shelley Hudson said: “We can confirm a 34-year-old man has now been charged in connection with this incident.
“I would like to thank the public for their continued cooperation and support. Enquiries are still very much ongoing and we are again asking people to come forward, and are especially interested in anyone who might have footage such as CCTV or dashcam, which could be useful to our investigation.
“Now someone has been charged, we would also ask people to avoid speculation which could impact the case going forward.”
The officer added: "Thankfully, incidents of this nature are rare, but when they do occur we are committed to supporting and safeguarding victims, and will use every tactic at our disposal to ensure anyone responsible is brought to justice.”
Police are keen to hear from anyone who has CCTV, dashcam or doorbell footage which shows a man in the area of the Rising Sun Country Park between 12pm to 6pm on Monday.
Anyone with CCTV that they believe may be useful is asked to upload it to https://mipp.police.uk/operation/10NP22B04-PO1
Anyone with further information which they believe may be useful is also asked to contact police via the Tell Us Something pages of the Northumbria Police website or contact 101 quoting reference NP-20220328-0700 or contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
