Rotherham sex attacks: Man, 26, arrested

He was seized in the Moorgate area of Rotherham this morning on suspicion of rape and he remains in custody where he will be questioned by detectives.

Earlier, officers said private CCTV cameras in the Moorgate area of the town may have recorded images which would help their investigations.

The first incident involved a 27-year-old woman who was attacked and sexually assaulted in Moorgate Road around 11.30pm on Friday.

The second incident happened at around 1am on Saturday, following a break-in at an address in Moorgate. Two female occupants were seriously assaulted and the younger of the two was subjected to a serious sexual assault.

Detective Superintendent Lisa Ray said: “Our priorities at this stage in the investigation are to locate the person or persons responsible for these horrific attacks, and to piece together a description of them.

“Additional officers are supporting the investigation which is initially focusing on conducting forensic and house-to-house inquiries and, critically, to support the victims.”

Police patrols in the area were stepped up and yesterday some locations in the area remained closed to the public while scenes of crime officers continued their investigations.

Rotherham District Commander Chief Superintendent Jason Harwin said: “I’m grateful for the support from the public so far and thankful to those who have phoned in with information. However, people need to remain vigilant and I would urge anyone who sees someone acting suspiciously to contact police.”