Police are looking for a man who followed a woman into a McDonald’s parking lot before ‘terrifyingly attacking’ her there.
The 24-year-old woman was trapped by the man, who is described as Asian and in his mid- to late-30s, early on June 3 in the McDonald’s parking lot in Newham.
According to the Metropolitan Police, the woman was “approached by an unknown male and sexually attacked” at around 2.30am when she was crossing the parking lot of the closed McDonald’s in Silvertown Way, Canning Town.
The victim was attacked while traveling home from a night out with a buddy.
To get her friend’s attention, she was able to scream, which terrified her.
The woman described the man as being “of Asian appearance and possibly in his mid to late 30s,” with “glasses and had a light colored beard,” and police have made an E-fit of him.
The North East Safeguarding Unit’s Detective Constable Matt Wilson said: “This was a terrible attack on a woman in the middle of the night.”
She heroically managed to yell for aid, which made her assailant flee but not before he had sexually abused her.
Given the time of night, the parking lot was not crowded, but we do know that several people were present, including delivery drivers who were waiting to pick up McDonald’s meals.
Additionally, we are aware that a white van was at the time parked in the parking lot.
“I would kindly ask anyone who witnessed or heard anything weird to come forward.”
Anyone who believes they recognize the person shown in the e-fit image is also urged to get in touch.
We take occurrences like these very seriously, and we’ll look into any leads that are put out, said DC Wilson.
“While there is currently no information to suggest that this man has struck previously, we cannot completely rule out the possibility.”
“I would strongly advise anyone who has experienced such an incident, regardless of when it occurred, to contact the police.
We have specialized officers who will take your worries seriously and offer assistance during the investigation and any subsequent legal proceedings.