The mother of a 13-year-old child raped in a Nottinghamshire graveyard the day after the 2019 general election says she ‘blames herself’ for being late to school, as police make a fresh appeal to information about the attack and CCTV of the man they want to talk to
- The 13-year-old was walking alone when the stranger approached her in Retford
- He held a knife to the girl on a bridge and told her to follow him into the bushes
- The girl’s mum said it was ‘so hard to listen to’ and she tried to move on
- The mother said her daughter’s ‘innocence was stolen’ on December 13, 2019
- Footage of a man walking near the cemetery around the time was released
The mother of a 13-year-old girl who was raped at a Nottinghamshire graveyard says she ‘blames herself’ for being late to school, as police issue a fresh plea for information about the 2019 attack.
The girl’s mother explained it was ‘so hard to listen’ after hearing about the horrific crime in which her daughter’s ‘innocence was stolen’.
She added that she was trying to move on but was “blaming herself” for being late to pick up her daughter from school.
The 13-year-old then decided to walk back through the cemetery instead.
BBC Crimewatch showed a re-enactment of the incident, in Retford, where a man holding a knife approached the girl on the graveyard bridge and told her to follow him into the bushes.
And CCTV was broadcast by police showing a man walking near the cemetery at the time.
Last November, police released CCTV footage of a man they would like to speak to as part of a rape investigation in Nottinghamshire.
Key forensic evidence has been found at the scene near Babworth Road, Retford
In the reconstruction, the girl is crossing the cemetery on a bridge when she saw the man “walking towards her”.
He told her not to make a sound, then he raped her.
Speaking two years after the incident to Crimewatch, her mother said: ‘It’s like it was my fault because I was five minutes late.
“If I was on time, she wouldn’t have been hurt, I’m sorry.
“I have noticed my daughter is calmer since the incident, she is a strong girl but I know it has affected her.
“When it happened my daughter was only 13, what happened took that 13 year old girl away.”
CCTV footage shows a man, who police want to speak to, walking along Leafield near the cemetery around the time the victim was attacked
Key forensic evidence was also found at the scene in Babworth Road, where the incident happened around 3.30pm on Thursday December 12, 2019 – the date of the general election.
Officers made a fresh appeal for information on BBC Crimewatch this morning after it released CCTV footage of a man they would like to speak with in November
Key forensic evidence was also found at the scene in Babworth Road, where the incident happened around 3.30pm on Thursday December 12, 2019 – the date of the general election.
Nottinghamshire Police previously described the attack as an aggravated sexual assault, but officers have since confirmed the victim was raped.
He made a fresh appeal for information on BBC Crimewatch this morning.
CCTV footage, released in November, shows a man, who police want to speak to, walking along Leafield near the cemetery around the time the victim was attacked.
Detective Sergeant Neil Allsop, Nottinghamshire Police, said: ‘This case may now be over two years old, but the date may well stick in people’s minds as it coincided with the 2019 general election.
“Did you see anyone acting unusual in the area – either this Thursday afternoon or the days on either side of the incident?”
A £1,000 reward for information to catch the person responsible is being offered by independent charity Crimestoppers.
