Reports of flasher targeting women
INCIDENTS TOOK PLACE BY CANAL AND IN PARK
SEVERAL women have issued urgent warnings after they were reportedly flashed by a man when walking down the Grand Union canal, and in a West London park.
The man reportedly waited for them in long grass or behind bushes before jumping out and indecently exposing himself.
There have been reports of the flasher operating in Elthorne Park, Warren Farm Nature Reserve, and Hanwell Locks.
In a warning on Facebook, one victim said: “I came across a really strange man in Warren Farm today, he followed me from a distance and he kept eyeballing me, dipping in and out of the long grass, sometimes sitting down and taking his coat on and off.”
The woman said she walked out the park with another woman who was on her own. This was at 9.05am on the October 15.
Another woman warned: “Be careful my daughter has just been flashed by a man in Elthorne Park. She is physically ok but very upset.”
Reports from female victims have all described a similar looking male who looks to be in his mid 20s. There have been six individual reports so far.
One woman reported she had been ‘creeped out’ by the actions of a man in the same area that the flasher was reported to be operating in.
A spokesperson for the women’s safety group, Reclaim Our
Streets, West London, said: “It is a horrendous crime to commit (indecent exposure) in what should be safe spaces for all women.
“It makes women feel scared to go out and intimidated. Hearing these crimes are happening causes an expectation of danger for females in the capital.
“Every day we hear more stories of abuse against women and the deterioration of our rights.
“All crimes against women need the full force of the law behind them to try and install confidence in the systems meant to protect us.”
Those who flash commit an offence of exposure if they intentionally expose their genitals with the intention of someone seeing them and them being alarmed or distressed.
Any person who carries out an act of obscene nature in public can also be charged with ‘outraging public decency.’
You can outrage public decency if you behave in a lewd, obscene or disgusting nature. A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police said: “We are looking into reports of indecent exposure in the area.
“We have increased our presence in those areas and encourage anyone with any information to come forward to help with our inquiries.”
If you come into contact with someone who has exposed themselves to you, call 999. If you have any information on a crime you can call 101. Anonymously you can contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or at https://crimestoppers-uk.org/.
Hearing these crimes are happening causes an expectation of danger for females in the capital. Reclaim Our Streets, West London