Birmingham Mail
May 28, 2014
Birmingham police have released a CCTV image from a bus in Maypole after a teenage girl was sexually assaulted on her way to school.
The man in the photograph is alleged to have touched the 15-year-old as he sat next to her just before 8am on Wednesday, March 19, on the number 50 bus.
The young girl eventually fled from the bus in fear and police say she has been too upset to use the service again.
DC Warren Moore, from the Project Empower team at Safer Travel, said: “This assault has had a lasting effect on the young girl, she is unable to use this service through fear of this happening again.
“We need to identify the person responsible to make sure that this doesn’t happen to anyone else, particularly young girls as they travel to school.”
The man police would like to speak to is described as Asian, around 40-years-old, around 5 feet 6 inches tall and stockily built.
He was wearing a high-visibility jacket and a black beanie hat with sunglasses.
He was already on the bus at Balsall Heath and travelled further than Druids Heath.
Project Empower sees officers from West Midlands Police’s Public Protection Unit (PPU) working as part of the Safer Travel Partnership to fast-track enquiries into complaints like sexual touching, lewd comments and indecent exposure.
Working from the Birmingham HQ of transport authority Centre in Summer Lane, the team have access to a network of CCTV cameras covering the bus and rail network.
The initiative will also see public transport staff – including drivers and conductors – trained to spot the tactics used by sex offenders, support passengers who’ve been targeted and report suspicious behaviour.
Anyone who recognises the suspect should contact DC Moore on 101, or information can be given anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.