€10,000 reward in Swords attack inquiry
KILIAN DOYLE

Crimestoppers has offered a €10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of a man who seriously assaulted a girl (17) in north Co Dublin earlier this month.

The girl was attacked as she walked through a park in Swords at around 2.40am on Sunday, August 3rd.

During what was described by a Garda source as a "particularly savage" incident, the victim was sexually assaulted and received severe head and facial injuries. She has since been released from hospital.

A Garda spokesman said the attacker was aged between 18 and 25, had dark hair and a sallow complexion. He is said to be between 5'5" and 5'8" tall and was wearing a black baseball cap and a black hooded top with a zip.

Detective Inspector Pat Conlon of Swords Garda station said it is believed there may have been a number of people in the area, which is known locally as the Jacko Recreational park, at the time of the attack and appealed for witnesses to come forward.

“You might know someone fitting this description who has changed their behaviour or their appearance or who has recently left the area for no apparent reason,” he said. “You might know someone who has recently had unexplained stained or soiled clothing”.

“Information you might think is unimportant might be very helpful to our investigation."

Det Conlon said investigating detectives were appealing to the large Eastern European population in the area for information. Posters and leaflets in English, Polish, Latvian and Lithuanian with the suspect’s description were distributed around Swords yesterday.

However, he said this fact did not necessarily suggest the man being sought was a non-national.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the gardaí at Swords on 01-6664700 or Crimestoppers on 1800 25 00 25.

Paula Eager of the Irish Crimestoppers Trust said any calls about the attack would be dealt with “in the strictest of confidence”. Callers do not have to leave their name and address if they do not wish.