Police have made an arrest after 11 women walking in Bristol city centre reported that a man cycling past them touched their bottoms. The incidents all took place over the past six weeks, and prompted a text message warning women about the incidents in the city centre to go viral as it was shared across social media in the city.
Police have confirmed the incidents mentioned in the warning were genuine, and they have arrested an 18-year-old man on suspicion of committing a series of sexual assaults.
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The message being shared by women in Bristol last week and this week stated: “One of my work colleagues shared this, just so you’re aware it seems like BS1 ain’t super safe at the moment at night.
“Apparently there has been a spree of sexual assaults in Bristol city centre over the last five evenings.” The message warns women not to stop if ‘someone on a bike stops and asks you for directions’, but acknowledges that ‘the source is just friends of friends’.
Bristol Live can confirm there have been a number of reports of a man on a bike cycling past women and touching their bottoms, which have all happened in the past six weeks.
Police arrested the 18-year-old, who has not been named, after he ran off from police trying to apprehend him in Stokes Croft on Sunday evening, a spokesperson for Avon and Somerset police said.
In a statement, police said: “On Sunday, June 10, officers arrested an 18-year-old man in Bristol on suspicion of committing a series of sexual assaults. It followed a number of reports of a man on a bike cycling past women and touching their bottoms. The incidents have all taken place during the past six weeks.
“In addition to being arrested on suspicion of eleven sexual assaults, the man has also been arrested on suspicion of failing to stop for officers. Officers on patrol drove past the man as he cycled through the Stokes Croft area on Sunday evening and indicated him to stop after suspecting he matched the description victims had provided,” he added.
“The man continued to cycle before he abandoned his bike and began running away on foot. He was subsequently found hiding in a garden. The man has since been released on bail while further enquiries, including a comprehensive review of CCTV, take place,” he added.
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