Key leads after pregnant rape victim’s appeal
Police have been handed valuable leads following a television appeal in which a woman told of her ordeal when she was raped at gunpoint by a burglar while heavily pregnant.
The 33-year-old victim was two months from giving birth when masked raiders burst into her home and held a sawnoff shotgun to her partner's head.
She was told it was her "lucky day" by one of the men before she was subjected to a sexual assault which police described as "oral rape".
Police received more than 20 calls, including some of "considerable value", after the appeal on the BBC's Crimewatch last night.
They said they are convinced someone knows the
suspects shown on CCTV footage.
A source said the leads included a "couple of names".
The woman was watching TV with her boyfriend on 14 May last year when the men struck. Her boyfriend, 39, was hit on the head and threatened with the shotgun as the gang demanded the keys to their Audi TT car.
The victim told of her ordeal last night as police offered a £20,000 reward to capture her attackers.
She said: "I remember telling him I was pregnant and begging him not to hurt me and I remember him telling me it was my lucky day. There was just so much racing through your head. I was so close to having my first baby and did not want anything to go wrong."
She has since given birth to a healthy child, but said the attack had devastated her life.
The Met has only just given details of the attack as the victim was too traumatised to speak out at the time. They released images of three men caught on CCTV shortly before the attack whom they wish to question.
Police faced criticism today for not publicising the crime when it happened.
Former Commander John O'Connor said: "Thugs who do that sort of thing will have committed further crimes. You must put public safety first."
The sex attacker is described as black, 6ft, aged 18 to 25 and stocky. He wore a black balaclava, black jacket and black tracksuit bottoms.
A second man was black or Asian, 5ft 6in and about 18. He had grey tracksuit bottoms, black trainers and a jacket with red sleeves.
The third man, who had the gun, was black, 5ft 10in, and between 18 and 22. He had burgundy tracksuit bottoms.
