Independent crime-fighting charity Crimestoppers is offering a reward of up to £3,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person/s responsible for the sexual assault of a young woman in Tyneside three years ago. [11 July 2012]

The incident occurred on Sunday August 2 2009, in Whitley Bay, when a man approached Stephanie Hewson and dragged her into the rear lane of Beach Avenue and sexually assaulted her.

Miss Hewson, 23 at the time, had been walking alone that night towards Park Avenue around 2.30am when the assault happened.

Police found her in a distressed state with serious facial injuries including a broken nose.

The offender is described as a white man aged in his mid-to-late 20s with short hair, wearing a blue short sleeved T-shirt with the word ‘Mackenzie’ written in yellow, dark jeans and white trainers.

The Crimestoppers reward of up to £3,000 is being offered for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the person/s responsible for this crime.

North East Regional Manager for Crimestoppers, Dave Hunter, said: “It has taken immense courage for the victim of this crime to come forward, who has been left badly shaken and afraid to leave her home at night as a result of her ordeal.

“I would urge anyone with information on this crime to come forward with information, no matter how insignificant they might think it is, to help bring this callous individual to justice. We only want to know what you know, not who you are.”

If you have any information on this crime please contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or through our secure online form.

*Rewards can only be claimed for information passed through our anonymous 0800 555 111 number.

 ENDS

If you require any more information on Crimestoppers please contact Media Officer Kieran Theivam on 0208 835 3727

Notes to Editors

• This reward is not to be republished after October 6 2012 without first contacting the communications team at Crimestoppers press.office@crimestoppers.org.uk .

• Crimestoppers is an independent charity which helps the police to solve crimes, making communities safer. It does this by operating the 24/7 telephone number 0800 555 111 which people can ring to pass on information about crimes anonymously. They can also use our ‘giving information’ form via our website www.crimestoppers-uk.org.
• Around 23 people are arrested and charged every day as a result of information given to Crimestoppers.  
• Since Crimestoppers began in 1988, it has received over a million actionable calls, resulting in over 115,000 arrests and charges. Over £122 million worth of goods has been recovered and over £232 million worth of drugs has been seized.  
• In 2005, Crimestoppers launched the UK’s Most Wanted on its website which allows the public to view images of criminals and pass on vital information about their whereabouts. It has been highly successful with over 1,000 arrests to date.
• Crimestoppers UK was founded by Lord Ashcroft, KCMG, Chairman of Trustees, who in 1988 launched Crimestoppers in the Metropolitan Police area. Crimestoppers’ ‘call to action’ is built on a three-way partnership between the business community, the police and the media.