Boy, 11, arrested over indecent assaults in city

An eleven year old boy has been arrested after a woman and a teenage girl were indecently assaulted and three other women approached by someone with a knife in Bristol.

The five incidents happened in the Redcliff and Montpelier areas of the city between Wednesday 20 March and Monday 25 March.

Officers attended each incident but for all, the offender had already left the area.

Targeted patrols were put in place to look for them and to provide the public with reassurance and the incidents are being treated as potentially linked due to their locations and some similarities in the descriptions of the offender given by the women.

A public appeal for witnesses to any of the incidents and for any footage which could help officers was issued on Tuesday 26 March.

An 11-year-old boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons has now been arrested in connection with the incidents.

He was taken into custody on Monday 1 April before later being released on bail with conditions to stay at home between 7pm and 7am.

In response to the arrest, acting chief inspector Tom Gent said: “We continue to carry out inquiries into each of these incidents and remain open minded as to whether they are linked.

“The individual we have arrested is a child and we have interviewed him alongside an appropriate adult to see if he has any information about the incidents which could help our investigation. We are also engaging with our statutory partners as part of our safeguarding responsibilities.

“The nature of the offences is concerning and officers continue to target their patrols to provide reassurance and to act as a deterrent.”

Anyone with information is urged to call 101 and give the call handler the reference 5224072591.