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00:11Once I woke up, I, like, opened my eyes and I saw, like, a figure in the dark.
00:19There was, like, a man, and he was kneeling next to my bed.
00:25And I felt, like, really panicked and scared.
00:31And then he showed me the knife.
00:36He was covering my mouth.
00:42He said, you better not tell anybody or else I will kill your family.
01:29I'll see you next time.
01:29Police emergency.
01:32It's always just come back from her dad's, and she's basically told us
01:35someone's broken into the house last night and has raped her.
01:40She's 11 years old.
01:43Between what times?
01:46She's saying early hours of the morning, this morning.
01:50Is she any idea who it could be?
01:53No. She said she'd never seen the man before.
01:56Police officers on the way now.
02:05Following the report of a serious sexual assault on an 11-year-old girl,
02:09a forensic team led by investigator Rachel Hughes
02:13is called to the house where the attack took place.
02:18Sexual assaults on anyone, they're always horrific.
02:21But when you do hear about these things on children, it's very shocking.
02:26Their innocence is taken away from them.
02:29The victim says she's been sexually assaulted while she's been asleep in bed
02:32by a stranger, someone who's not known at all to the victim.
02:39These kind of cases are very rare, but right now,
02:43we don't know what we're looking at at this stage.
02:48Whilst the victim is spoken to by officers, a forensic search of the house begins,
02:53looking for any signs of an intruder.
02:59The important areas within this crime scene are the point of entry
03:06and the child's bedroom itself.
03:09Any surfaces that might have had contact from the offender.
03:12We're looking at that.
03:14We're looking at the doors, door handles, looking at the door frames,
03:19doing swabs for DNA, and fingerprinting those surfaces as well.
03:25Obviously, we just want to make sure we don't miss anything.
03:29You've got someone who's really predatory,
03:31they've got horrible sexual tendencies,
03:34and they are very, very dangerous.
03:36You don't know what their next step could be.
03:41As Rachel's team continue their search for evidence,
03:45the case is immediately assigned to a specialist unit,
03:49charged with solving the most serious crimes against children.
03:55This is a briefing in relation to Op Tetra Green,
03:59a serious sexual assault that's taken place on an 11-year-old child
04:02while she's at her father's address.
04:06Just to put some context around that,
04:08so our victim resides with her mum during the week
04:10but lives with her dad at the weekends.
04:14So we're told that she went to bed around half past ten on the evening
04:19and Dad has stated that she woke him up during the night,
04:23stating that she'd had a nightmare.
04:27Later on then she returned to her mum's address
04:30and it was at her mum's address that then she disclosed to her mum
04:33and her grandmother, I believe, as what has happened to her.
04:36She said that there was a man who broke into our house,
04:39he woke me up and tried to make me do things.
04:42He was trying to make me touch areas of him and trying to touch areas of me.
04:47He was putting his fingers inside me.
04:52So it seems fairly early stages but obviously we've got a serious sexual assault
04:56of a very young child in her home.
05:00Lots of things are going through my mind.
05:01I've got the worry, is this a targeted sexual attack?
05:05Have we got a stranger who's got into the house and sexually assaulted them?
05:10Really, really concerning.
05:13I've got three children, two girls and a lad.
05:17You've got it in the back of your mind that I think you wouldn't be normal if you didn't,
05:20that, you know, this could be your children.
05:24We've got no witnesses at this point and no known suspects,
05:29so we are having to play catch up.
05:31It's an awful offence, so I think we do want to try and get this one as quick as we
05:35can.
05:37It is a really unusual and very distressing incident.
05:40The challenge that we have is that it's happened in a private residence,
05:44it happened in the middle of the night so there's no other witnesses other than the victim.
05:48This is a very dangerous offence and a very dangerous suspect that's committed this.
05:55I think the million-dollar question is why that house and why her?
06:01It was very obvious there's kids there, wasn't there?
06:03Yeah.
06:03There's a football goal, there's a rebounder thing, so...
06:07Is it opportunistic that he has just been walking down there and has seen the access?
06:12Because as soon as you come into that alleyway, it's not far, and is it opportunistic?
06:17We are up against the clock, certainly forensically.
06:20If it's a targeted sexual attack, it's chances are this could be a repeat offender,
06:25somebody who may have done it before,
06:27so that forensic evidence could give me the breakthrough in this case
06:30that we need to identify him.
06:47Before vital evidence is lost, the child has agreed to an urgent forensic medical examination,
06:54accompanied by her family.
06:55OK, so we have a female, 11 years old, sexual assault, and she's attending within the hour.
07:03The forensic medical examination of the victim could be the only chance we've got
07:07of getting the offender's DNA.
07:09With the sexual assault, the victim is actually classed as a crime scene themselves,
07:15the reason being is that there's elements of the offender
07:18that have been left behind on the victim themselves.
07:25Hi, lovely. Will you just jump on this couch for me?
07:29Crucial samples from the child will be collected by a specially trained nurse.
07:35So I'm just going to show you this swab I'm opening up for you,
07:38and you can have a look. It's just like a normal cotton bud swab.
07:43It must be so daunting for her to go through something like this.
07:46We can't forget, obviously, the fact that she's an 11-year-old girl,
07:48but we've got specially trained staff there,
07:51and they try and make the victim feel at ease as much as possible.
07:56I'm just going to take some swabs.
08:00OK?
08:02DNA can remain on the victim for a period of time,
08:05but there is a forensic window of capturing those samples from the victim,
08:09because evidence can be lost.
08:12The problem you've got is things like the victim having a wash,
08:16the victim showering.
08:18Sperm can only stay present for up to seven days,
08:21so it's critical that this is done.
08:23The sooner they're taken, the better, really.
08:26OK, all done. There you go.
08:29You've done really well.
08:37The swabs are sent for priority testing,
08:40in the hope that they may reveal the attacker's DNA.
08:53Detectives need to gather as much detail as possible from the child,
08:57about what she can remember.
09:01There you go, so you can just take a seat over there for me.
09:07The 11-year-old is interviewed by Stacey Reynolds,
09:10who is specially trained to speak to vulnerable children.
09:14Your mum's next door and your nan's next door in the waiting room,
09:19so you just want to go and see your mum and your nan.
09:21Just let me know, I'm guarded by you, OK?
09:25So, for an 11-year-old child, it is very difficult to ask them
09:29to talk about a massive trauma.
09:32Some children obviously only remember parts
09:35and don't know if it could be a dream or if it's actually happened.
09:40It's very difficult.
09:42But her account is crucial.
09:45She is the only person that knows what happened in that room.
09:51So, you're here today to tell me what's happened.
09:57So, when I woke up, there was like a man and he was kneeling next to my bed.
10:04And I felt, like, really panicked and scared
10:08because I thought I was going to get kidnapped.
10:15That's when he covered my mouth and he kept saying,
10:20don't say a word, and he kept touching me in places
10:24and then he started licking me.
10:28And then he got on my bed and then he...
10:32..he made me touch his private area as well.
10:39OK.
10:40So, can you remember which part of your body you touched first?
10:44Uh, my belly button.
10:47I was really, like, frightened because, um...
10:51..I didn't know, like, if I should tell somebody.
10:55But this was before he threatened me.
11:00I know that he said something about a knife.
11:04Um, he showed me the knife and it looked like it folded.
11:08Like one of those knives that you, like, cut carpets with.
11:12He said, um, you better not tell anybody or else.
11:16I will kill your parents and everyone that lives in this household.
11:22This is horrific.
11:24A stranger has entered her address.
11:26He's sexually assaulted her in her own home
11:29when she should be safe sleeping.
11:30This is your worst nightmare.
11:32This is any parent's worst nightmare.
11:34So, can you describe this person in as much detail as possible?
11:39He was in black clothing.
11:42He was a little bit, like, fat.
11:44Like a little bit of a tummy.
11:46And then he's, like, bald.
11:50OK.
11:51Do you know what happened with the knife after he threatened you?
11:55I think he put it, like, back in his, um, pocket.
11:58And that's when, um, he took my bottle.
12:04Can you, like, tell me what the bottle is and how he's handling it in place?
12:09So, it's, um, like a reusable bottle.
12:12He said, I'm going to need to take this.
12:14He, like, opened his coat and then he, like, grabbed the bottle and put it inside.
12:20Then he stood by my door and he was saying sorry a couple of times.
12:23And then he left in the direction of the back door.
12:26OK.
12:28I'm, like, I was still really panicked and scared because the man knows where I live.
12:32And if he founds that I've told anybody, he knows where to go and where to kill people.
12:39But I know I needed to tell somebody because it was, like, really serious.
12:43So, that's why I waited till I got to my mum's house.
12:46OK.
12:49She was amazingly brave.
12:51I'm always mindful that trauma can affect memories in different ways.
12:56But considering she's 11, the detail that she went into was amazing.
13:00So, I believe the child, but we do need corroborating evidence to show that it has actually happened.
13:08How are you feeling now? Obviously, a lot's happened.
13:11I feel, like, a bit, um, relieved because it's, like, over now
13:15and I'm glad that I told somebody.
13:17OK. That's fine. Thank you so much.
13:29Armed with the victim's clear description of her attacker,
13:33detectives start a sweep for CCTV near her home,
13:36hoping to find a camera that captured him.
13:41There's somebody out there that's dangerous,
13:44somebody who has done the unthinkable thing to someone else.
13:47So, we really need to find them as a matter of urgency.
13:52There's been an incident that took place in the early hours
13:55and I was just wondering, firstly, if your ring doorbell works.
13:59If we don't have a clue who this person is,
14:02it can feel like a needle in a haystack.
14:05We're trying to track him going to the offence location.
14:09Yeah.
14:10There's no cameras here, is there?
14:12Not really anything.
14:14No, I don't know.
14:15What's that?
14:18Well, this is a really good alleyway because it's really long.
14:21Yeah.
14:21And there's no cameras that cover it,
14:23so if he was trying to avoid CCTV...
14:25Yeah.
14:25..this is a very good route to have taken.
14:29I don't suppose you know if CCTV works at all.
14:33There are no CCTV that capture that particular house,
14:37so we're looking at the surrounding areas,
14:39but, ultimately, we're trying to identify this person.
14:43We want to get justice for the victim.
14:49As detectives hunt for CCTV,
14:53the forensic team searches for the items described by the child.
14:58The knife she was threatened with
15:02and the water bottle the attacker took from her room.
15:07The victim's account could be really crucial for us.
15:10Now, we can target those items that potentially have traces
15:13of the DNA from the offender on there.
15:17PHONE RINGS
15:18Hi, O'Neill.
15:19It's Rachel Hughes from the Crime Scene Coordinators.
15:21Hello, O'Neill.
15:22With regards to this kind of scene,
15:24we're very lucky, actually,
15:24that it's predominantly enclosed inside a house,
15:27therefore, we haven't sort of lost much forensically.
15:30OK.
15:31We've got, like, a pair of French doors,
15:34and there's also a kitchen door.
15:36We've taken DNA swabs from the inside
15:39and outside surfaces of both those doors.
15:42And we've also done the same on the victim's bedroom door.
15:45The outside surface of that
15:47and the inside surface of that has been swabbed as well.
15:50The problem you've got is,
15:52when you have a family household that is actually the crime scene,
15:55there can be a lot of footfalls through there,
15:57there can be a lot of traces of DNA
15:58that are actually innocent persons that we need to rule out,
16:02which makes it even more difficult.
16:05There is a forensic window, obviously,
16:07that we do stand a chance of losing evidence,
16:08but, thankfully, this is still a very forensically rich scene.
16:12So, as soon as those samples are taken,
16:14we'll submit those to the lab as a matter of urgency.
16:17OK.
16:18We've got to try and find a forensic link
16:20between the offender and the victim.
16:23What they've done to that victim is so repulsive
16:25and so scary and dangerous
16:27that we've got to do everything we can
16:29to get him in as soon as possible.
16:47So, members of the public have uploaded up to 300 items.
16:53The search for an image of the attacker remains vital.
16:58Stuart has now collected over 200 hours of footage
17:01that he needs to scrutinise for any trace of the man.
17:06Again, it was early hours.
17:07The victim has described a white male with a bald head.
17:13I'm looking at multiple cameras, different angles.
17:16Did they use a car?
17:17Did they go by foot?
17:19Were they with somebody else?
17:21These are the sort of things that we need to look at.
17:24When it is at night, the images are not always as clear
17:27as what we'd hope.
17:29When you look at it, it's bad CCTV.
17:31It's blurry.
17:32It's grainy.
17:33It can be very tricky
17:35because it doesn't actually show too much.
17:39We're trying to identify a route that someone has taken.
17:44Stuart focuses on finding anyone out in the early hours of the morning
17:48who matches the description given by the 11-year-old child.
17:55It's a black and white image, but that is a person of interest.
18:00Balting hair, white male.
18:05Ian.
18:06Oh, he's walking down there, which leads to the main road.
18:11OK, there aren't many other opportunities there.
18:18Narrowing his search, Stuart spots a man walk into range of a camera
18:23closer to the victim's home.
18:25So this is one of the petrol garages, not too far away.
18:303.22 in the morning, and there's a figure here.
18:34He's crossed the road.
18:37Nobody else is walking the streets at this time,
18:40at that location.
18:42Just here.
18:43Bald head, small in height.
18:50I've got a different angle.
18:52This one's from behind, he's in colour.
18:55White male, bald head, that's it.
18:59Nick.
19:03I think I've found a person.
19:07OK.
19:07See him there?
19:09Yep.
19:09Crossing the road.
19:10That's the petrol garage.
19:12It is, yeah.
19:13So he's walking the direction of a train station.
19:17Ah, yeah.
19:18Right, so these are the train steps.
19:20Yep.
19:213.24am.
19:23That's the same person.
19:24It is an unusual time for somebody to be walking the streets
19:27in those early hours.
19:29We need to show the route to understand his movements
19:35before, during, and after.
19:39He's a person of great interest.
19:41However, it's not an offence to be walking round late at night.
19:45It doesn't show the act being carried out.
19:47It's showing circumstantial evidence.
19:50It's not the best picture.
19:52It's quite difficult to make out the colour of the clothings.
19:55It's black and white.
19:56It's not clear enough.
19:57It's from quite some distance.
19:59That's really frustrating, because we really want to get a good,
20:02clear image of their face.
20:04This person disappears moments after that.
20:09We need to identify other footage very quickly.
20:15While the quest for a clearer image continues, detectives are still hopeful the forensic evidence,
20:22gathered from the child's house, will reveal the identity of the attacker.
20:27So, from the actual scene itself, this is going into the victim's bedroom.
20:32We don't think that he's actually come any further than the bedroom itself,
20:37and nothing to imply that he's gone in there for a burglary, because nothing's been taken.
20:40We haven't confirmed that yet, but...
20:43We can't rule it out.
20:44We can't rule it out, no.
20:45Right, OK.
20:47So, let me just show you.
20:50OK, so we've got some items of clothing.
20:52We think these are the silky pyjama bottoms that were put on by the victim post-incident.
20:58Those silky pyjama bottoms.
21:00Or any clothing that she was wearing during or post-incident, basically, a priority as well.
21:07We spoke to Dad, because obviously Dad's given us a statement,
21:09so maybe halfway to 4am is when we think the offenders come in and committed the offences.
21:15There was mention on there as well that he produced a knife.
21:19During the examination at the property, we haven't found that knife,
21:21but there's a water bottle, a drinks water bottle.
21:25It's been found in the rear garden.
21:28So we've got the potential of fingerprints on that as well,
21:30so we can get it into the fingerprint development lab.
21:32Yep, sounds good.
21:34Are we going to be limited with the drinks bottle,
21:35because it's been outside and obviously the weather's been awful?
21:38It doesn't help, but we always stand a chance
21:40of still recovering fingerprint evidence from that.
21:42Forensics is definitely the most crucial line of inquiry for us
21:47as an investigation team, definitely at this stage.
21:49We are concerned because of the nature of the offence, you know,
21:53he's still out there, we don't know who he is.
21:57There's a lot of pressure on us at the moment.
21:59Get the name of the offender.
22:01Get as much evidence as we can to find out who this individual is.
22:06Based on what the victim has told us,
22:08we now know that the offender has handled this water bottle.
22:12So for us, it's priority at the moment to get that examined.
22:28The child's water bottle, which was found discarded in the garden,
22:33is fast-tracked to the fingerprint lab for screening.
22:41What I'm doing initially is light sourcing the bottle,
22:45and what I'm looking for is latent finger marks.
22:51A juice bottle, a water bottle.
22:54There's a lot of traffic.
22:56So you would imagine that you'd get some sort of finger marks on there,
23:01whether it be victim or the suspect.
23:05So this is the UV light.
23:08It will fluoresce any finger marks that may be present.
23:16The water bottles that you get, the refillable ones that are plastic surfaces,
23:21although they generally look smooth,
23:23the actual surfaces themselves are kind of like a textured plastic.
23:27So don't always yield the best fingerprint evidence for us.
23:33Unfortunately, it doesn't look like it's enhanced any further finger marks.
23:39Unable to visualise any marks on the bottle,
23:42examiner Beverley Worrell turns to a superglue chamber
23:45in an attempt to enhance it.
23:49So the exhibit will go in here,
23:52and what the superglue adheres to is the amino acids in your fingerprints,
23:58so any sweat components.
24:01So the glue will stick to those,
24:03and then we'll be able to visualise those under the white light.
24:23So you can see you've got run marks down the bottle.
24:27That's where the superglue is adhered to what may have been juice
24:32on the outside of the bottle.
24:36It is disappointing when you don't enhance any finger marks.
24:46We're a bit of a crossroads, really.
24:49The water bottle hasn't yielded anything,
24:52so at the moment it's worrying that our offender remains unknown.
24:56So CCTV could be key.
25:05CCTV is like a puzzle.
25:08You need to be persistent.
25:11Sometimes I can drive past this particular area
25:13where I've carried out CCTV
25:15and remember something that's happened.
25:18You don't ever forget.
25:21It can be difficult knowing what someone's done,
25:24or even what they're about to do.
25:29So I've come in this morning and there has been a development.
25:37OK, I think I've got him.
25:40Stuart has received CCTV from a different camera
25:43that reveals a new sighting.
25:47And that there is going to be our man.
25:50And he's walking in the direction of the offence location.
25:56Zeroing in on the suspect, he makes a significant discovery.
26:01Strange, he seems to come from a wooded area,
26:04so what he's done there, I don't know.
26:09I don't know why he would go in those woods.
26:11He's said to have a knife,
26:13so we need to get some officers to have a look in that wooded area.
26:21He could have dumped something.
26:23He may have changed his clothing.
26:25Is he waiting to pounce on someone right now?
26:28Is that what I'm looking at?
26:30Why is he going in this wooded area?
26:32That's what we need to find out.
26:36Officers are sent to search the woods for any items
26:39that may have been discarded by the suspect
26:41before or after the attack.
26:45The CCTV footage of the suspect coming out
26:49has been taken from the camera over there,
26:51which shows him entering this woodland at 3.30am.
26:56He's in here and then he's popped back out
26:58at the same entrance at 3.38.
27:01So he may be coming in here actually to leave things in here.
27:08We haven't been able to recover the knife,
27:11so my hypothesis for there is that
27:13it's been taken with the offender when he's left.
27:15Whether he's discarded them, I don't know.
27:18What's that purple thing on there?
27:20I'm not looking at a full forensic examination of the scene,
27:24but I want to know what's there.
27:27Just a bag.
27:31Doesn't look like anything obvious, like a bag or anything, does it?
27:36There is no trace of a knife
27:37or any further clues as to what the man was doing there.
27:56What I have is pajama shorts.
28:00They are child size 11 to 12 years.
28:06While detectives are no closer to identifying the offender,
28:11clothing from the child is tested for any bodily fluids or cells
28:15which may reveal his DNA.
28:19We've got to consider the possibility of any sort of touch DNA,
28:23any cellular DNA that's been transferred from him to her.
28:26But DNA is very sensitive.
28:28It will degrade over a period of time.
28:31There are concerns that we could lose forensic evidence,
28:34so nothing's a guarantee.
28:38There may be a chance of finding the offender's saliva
28:41after the child reported being licked during the assault.
28:45For saliva, what we're going to do
28:47is we're going to wet our amylase paper,
28:50infused with starch.
28:53Now I'm going to place it on the item and pat it.
28:56So any saliva that is on the item
28:59will be transferred onto the paper.
29:03Saliva can actually stay on clothing a lot longer
29:06than actually being present on skinfall.
29:08And a lot of it's to do with the texture of material and fabric.
29:11So we're holding out hope
29:13that we can still find the offender's DNA there.
29:15This is iodine working solution.
29:18This reacts with the starch in the paper.
29:23OK, so what we have here is amylase-positive areas,
29:29which you can see here.
29:35The area that has reacted positively
29:38is then cut out and matched back to the pyjamas.
29:41OK.
29:43I'm going to place this on the item wall through the holes.
29:47This shows that we have had a positive reaction for saliva
29:52in the crotch area of the victim's pyjama bottoms.
29:57The sample will now be sent to a specialist lab
30:00to try and extract DNA that can be checked against known offenders
30:04on the police database.
30:16I've got all the CCTV footage from yesterday.
30:20Stuart has been piecing together further doorbell footage
30:24in a bid to track the suspicious man after the attack took place.
30:31He's just walking past.
30:37OK, so this is 4.41 in the morning.
30:42And that there is our suspect.
30:46Still looking exactly the same.
30:50New images showing the suspect coming from the direction of the victim's house
30:55could provide the missing link.
30:57That's a cul-de-sac.
30:59That's a cul-de-sac.
30:59He's going to appear.
31:00There he is.
31:01And there's not many houses up there,
31:02so we now need to try and work out where that person lives.
31:07And then all of a sudden all these gypsum pieces come together momentarily,
31:12split second.
31:15And this, I think, is the breakthrough that we need
31:17because this street's a cul-de-sac.
31:19To the chance, oh, this person lives in that street.
31:23That there is our suspect.
31:27That was 3.23, so that's definitely the same person.
31:31Stuart checks earlier footage
31:33and discovers the man leaving a house just half an hour before the attack.
31:44Officers immediately head to the house.
32:01They find a man who resembles the person seen on CCTV.
32:06What was your name, pal?
32:08Stephen Jeffrey.
32:09Stephen.
32:10You're under arrest on suspicion of sexual assault.
32:13I'll caution you that you don't need to say anything,
32:15but it may harm your offence if you do not mention one question
32:18to someone you may later rely on in court.
32:20I should have done it when I tried.
32:21It should have worked.
32:23I mean, if it had...
32:26All right, just do mind you're under caution, Stephen, all right?
32:28I haven't got a mind any more and it's just...
32:31OK.
32:34All right, that's one in custody.
32:42All right, out you pop pop.
32:45Four days since the sexual assault,
32:48the 33-year-old suspect is brought into custody.
32:57So I am authorising your detention as being necessary
32:59to secure and preserve evidence and to obtain evidence via question.
33:02Stay here, Stephen.
33:05Yeah, do you just need to stay up here though, Stephen?
33:08All right.
33:09Do you need to keep going?
33:19When we have a suspect that's brought into custody,
33:22forensically, there's quite a few things that we can try
33:24and gain from that, really.
33:25For example, the clothing that the actual offender is wearing.
33:28And also, it's really important for intimate samples
33:30to be taken from the person in custody.
33:36So I just need you to hold your penis out as far as you can for me
33:39and I'm going to swab it.
33:41There is possibly a chance that we could get some sort of DNA evidence
33:45from her on him based on her account.
33:51OK, that's all done.
33:53You can pull your trousers back up now.
33:56It may have been several days since the incident happened,
33:59but even if they'd washed,
34:01there could just be a small fragment of evidence there.
34:06Detectives now have 24 hours to find evidence linking the suspect
34:10to the attack.
34:16A fingertip search of his house gets underway.
34:20I'm just going to brief you about what we're searching for.
34:24Clothing.
34:24The path and the route that we believe the offender's taken
34:27is through, like, a muddy alleyway and garden,
34:31so it's probably going to be caked up in mud.
34:34Digital devices, phones, tablets,
34:36would be really helpful to the investigation.
34:46We're almost playing catch-up and the suspect has got 24 hours plus on us
34:51and has had opportunity to think about what they're going to do
34:54after they've committed the offence.
34:56You know, are they going to be destroying evidence?
34:58Are they going to be hiding things?
35:01We have a pair of black trainers with mud on.
35:04Has any clothing been seized?
35:06Yes, we have.
35:07OK.
35:08So there's no clothing that matched any description?
35:10I don't think we're after, sir.
35:11It's a pituit.
35:12When we look at his circumstances,
35:15he lives with his parents in a normal family home.
35:18Looking at him,
35:19he could present as just being a normal member of the public.
35:23In the kitchen,
35:25officers also retrieve a small foldable knife.
35:29Matches the description of our victim, yeah.
35:32We'll seize that and then that'll probably be put to the suspect in interview.
35:35So that's a great find.
35:37Awesome.
35:49I'll start by thanking everyone for the hard work today.
35:52Our suspect is in custody now.
35:54Will you just give us a little brief of where we are with our victim?
35:58Yeah, so, um, victim and family were updated yesterday
36:02in relation to the arrest of the suspect.
36:05Obviously, mum was understandably emotional.
36:08Mum has stated that her daughter isn't sleeping.
36:12Mum has to sleep in the room with her
36:14because she's just petrified.
36:16But hopefully, with the suspect in custody,
36:19it can offer some sort of comfort.
36:22So, let's see what he's got to say, if he's going to say anything.
36:34It's all counting on this interview, really, to try and get the suspect
36:38to prove or disprove their involvement in an offence.
36:44We need to try and place him in that bedroom.
36:49So, you was arrested for sexual assault of a child under 13 years.
36:54So, firstly, you're guilty of that offence.
36:57So, I've provided my client to answer no comment to all questions
37:00during the interview.
37:02Stephen, obviously, you've had your advice off your solicitor.
37:05It is advice, so it is completely your choice.
37:08So, if you do choose that you want to answer the questions,
37:11that is your choice, OK?
37:13So, I just need to ask you just about some significant comments
37:17that were made after you was arrested.
37:19So, at 16.54 hours, so after you was cautioned,
37:23you said, I should have died when I tried.
37:27It should have worked.
37:28I haven't got a mind anymore.
37:30Can you tell me about that, please?
37:33My advice is no comment.
37:39Well, no comment to most.
37:42It's just...
37:46It's got nothing to do with any allegations.
37:49This is just in me.
37:51I should have died.
37:55My advice is no comment to all questions.
37:59That's my advice.
38:10The victim is 11 years old.
38:12She has described in detail to me what's happened to her.
38:17She states that she's woke up to a man kneeling next to her.
38:23She said that then you've put your hand over her mouth.
38:26Tell me about that.
38:31She's saying that she was shown a knife
38:33and she describes it as it was like a pocket knife
38:36and she was told that she wasn't allowed to tell anybody
38:39while this man has said that he will kill everyone in that house.
38:44Tell me about that.
38:50Is that fair that an 11-year-old child should be scared in their own home?
38:55How does that make you feel?
38:59The suspect is very agitated.
39:03He is fidgeting a lot.
39:06He just looks like that he is hiding something.
39:12Did you use that knife to threaten her?
39:16Was it a pocket knife?
39:19Can you tell me the colour of the pocket knife?
39:22Was it blue?
39:24Do you own a blue pocket knife?
39:25No.
39:31Where did you get the knife from, Stephen?
39:33No comment.
39:36No comment.
39:37No comment.
39:38No comment, no comment, no comment.
39:38Stephen?
39:39Stephen, Stephen.
39:39Comment.
39:41Stephen, you're going to hurt your head.
39:43Stephen?
39:43No comment, please.
39:45Ok, ok, Stephen.
39:46Stephen, would you like a break?
39:49Stephen?
39:50Stephen?
39:50Please, yes.
39:50Stephen, you're going to have to stop.
39:56He wants the interview to end and he wants me to stop asking him the questions so it can just
40:01go away.
40:03I do believe that it's incriminating, so I will try and probe as much as possible to get the truth.
40:12No comment.
40:13He's probably done what we said he would do, admitted it all to his solicitor,
40:19and then his solicitor told him to go, no comment.
40:21Because all he's going to do is incriminate himself further, isn't he?
40:39With the suspect refusing to talk and the custody clock ticking,
40:44the focus moves to searching his phone for anything that connects him to the crime.
40:52We've got specialist software that we can use and we'll take the media from our extraction and place it into
40:57it.
40:58We can quickly run through and see what's on the handset.
41:02Digital investigator Jack McCauley manages a full download of data from the device.
41:09I'm just going through some of the web history here and there is 33,000 searches on here.
41:17You get such an insight into someone's life looking at their mobile.
41:21You don't just see the crime that's happening in front of you, you see the person,
41:25you see their personality develop and what they've been searching for.
41:29You can see those silly questions that we all ask or do some shopping online or whatever.
41:35So I can see he's got Snapchat installed, Instagram installed, all of these apps you can communicate across.
41:42Was this a targeted sort of crime or was this just by chance?
41:59So just going through the media on the device, there's images that are children at the beach.
42:07No one would look at this and go, this is a normal amount to have.
42:12It's children that he doesn't know.
42:14It gives you a mindset of that person behind the scenes and that's exactly what your digital devices do.
42:20He's got them in such quantity.
42:28We found screen recordings which look to be of webcam sessions for adult content where the users can chat to
42:38the model.
42:39And there's a chat here which is saying, hi, it's Steve.
42:43Can you please show me your belly button?
42:45Can you please show me your belly button up close?
42:47Can you press your belly button and scream belly button?
42:53We've got belly button searches, which then also relate to pornographic websites.
42:58On the next search, he's searching for children's belly buttons, pornography which includes belly buttons.
43:04So he's been looking for these images, searching for these terms.
43:08It's quite disturbing, searches for people who are sleeping, passed out, defenceless, sort of those vulnerable people.
43:18The internet is generally just the wild west.
43:20So people will try and hide their search history.
43:23Part of forensics is going through the additional data, the stuff that sits behind it all.
43:28It's all logged.
43:29It's all tracked in the back end.
43:31And that's what we view.
43:32We're not viewing it as the user sees it.
43:35So I've just come across my first illegal image.
43:39This is child sexual abuse material, or CSAM.
43:42So we split the illegal material into different categories.
43:44Currently found one cat B, which is sexual activity with a child,
43:49and five cat Cs, which is sexual posing as a child.
43:55Age in between the ages of four to ten.
43:59It's horrific.
44:02But unfortunately, in terms of this case, there's nothing here that relates directly to the crime.
44:08There's no evidence that he was there, or anything along those lines.
44:11However, there's illegal files.
44:13There's searches that are starting to look indicative to the crime.
44:16And we're painting this picture of his mindset.
44:23Although there is now enough to charge the suspect with possession of illegal images...
44:28If you just go in that room here to the left...
44:32..there is still no forensic proof that he committed the sexual assault.
44:38Your mobile phone.
44:39I believe that you had this when you was arrested.
44:43Is this your mobile phone?
44:45Yeah.
44:46OK.
44:48So, on this mobile phone, there's been extensive sexualised search history around belly buttons.
44:57Tell me about that.
45:01Do you have a sexual infraction to people's belly buttons?
45:10There's also searches for sleep attack, pornography.
45:15There's also searches for rape.
45:16Yeah, tell me.
45:17And also, there was searches for rape.
45:20And is that something that you get sexual gratification from?
45:26Yeah, tell me.
45:28So, we've got a map here.
45:31We believe that you have entered and gained access to the back of these properties.
45:36Can you tell me if that is the route you've took?
45:41Do you know that area well?
45:43Do you know that area well?
45:46We don't want this offender to be walking out from custody.
45:49The whole job is riding under forensic evidence to prove that he has actually entered that address and he is
45:56the person that's actually committed that crime.
46:05In a specialist forensic lab, the complex process of trying to extract DNA from saliva found on the child's pajama
46:14shorts is underway.
46:32With no guarantee they can extract a full DNA profile from the shorts, Rachel meets with Neil to plan their
46:40best next steps.
46:44So, it's pretty disturbing what's been found on his phone, to be fair.
46:49Many, many searches around paralysed or sleeping women.
46:53Oh, my God.
46:53So, all pretty, pretty disturbing, pretty disturbing, pretty horrific.
46:58So, you know, definitely we've got a sexual interest in children and belly button fetishes.
47:04Obviously, the swabs that were taken from our victim's stomach, if he has sort of licked around or put his
47:09mouth on a stomach area, that's obviously a priority submission.
47:12So, they're in for DNA profile, are they?
47:14Yeah, yeah.
47:15So, hopefully we'll get a result as soon as possible.
47:17We've established that the offender has a fetish about belly buttons.
47:23Because of the sexual nature of the incident, we're looking for any traces of either his saliva or his semen
47:30that could be present on the victim herself, on her stomach area.
47:37We're holding out so much hope now that this is going to be the area that's going to give us
47:41the breakthrough.
47:45I have got swabs to examine today.
47:53Forensic samples taken from the victim's stomach area are now prioritised for testing.
48:01I'm going to be teasing the fibres apart of the swab heads to loosen up any of the cellular material
48:08that is in these swabs.
48:11So, next, we're going to add the solution.
48:19And then we're going to put this into the centrifuge.
48:22And we're going to spin it down so that we get a pellet.
48:28The centrifuge separates heavier particles, such as semen, to make it easier to detect.
48:37So, this will contain the cells.
48:41Now, what we have to do is stain the stain that we've made.
48:44We're going to use this using Christmas tree staining.
48:47It stains any sperm heads present in the sample a pink colour.
49:10So, what we can see down the microscope is these little pink heads here are the semen heads.
49:22It's a very good result for us, but we can't automatically assume that we're going to get a DNA hit
49:28from that.
49:29It depends on the amount of sperm heads that are left behind.
49:31So, we won't know until we actually send off the samples from that to establish whether it gives us a
49:36full DNA profile or not.
49:38The sample is urgently sent for DNA analysis to see if it matches the suspect in custody.
49:55I just wanted to give you a phone call.
49:57I'll email you over the timeline.
49:58We're just looking for an extension.
50:00His time is up in four hours.
50:04So, it will take us to half one in the morning.
50:07With the custody clock running out, detectives request a 12-hour extension to keep the suspect behind bars while they
50:15wait for the forensic results.
50:17He might come out with reasonable lines of inquiry that we need to do while he's in custody.
50:21We are looking at going as a red case to CPS.
50:26Yes.
50:33There is always that risk that we are going to have to release our suspects from custody, that we can't
50:39gather all the evidence within the custody time limit that we have.
50:43That is frustration if we have to release him.
50:45So, we need a real breakthrough, forensically, as soon as possible.
50:56The results of the DNA extraction process on both the saliva and semen samples have come through and are fast
51:05-tracked for analysis by senior reporter Charlotte Hargreaves.
51:09In effect, a DNA profile is just a string of numbers, but they are known to differ between individuals.
51:15So, we look at 16 areas and from that sample we obtain the full DNA profile.
51:21What you can see is that the major DNA profile, which is all of the very large pieces of DNA,
51:28that indicates that it's from a female and we know that this profile matches that of the injured party herself.
51:35What we are interested in is these smaller bits of DNA here.
51:41Charlotte compares the DNA profile to find out if it matches to that of the suspect.
51:48These numbers basically comprise this individual's DNA profile.
51:55So, this is a number 14, which obviously when I go to the semen profile, that matches that same number
52:0314.
52:03We've got some smaller areas here, 14, 15, and then a 17, and then a 12 over here.
52:09We come back to this and you can see that these 14, 15, the 17, they match the person whose
52:18profile we've obtained from the semen.
52:19It being a billion times more likely that the DNA originated from that person rather than some of the unrelated
52:26to them.
52:29Hello, Rachel Hughes, crime scene coordinators.
52:31Can I help?
52:32Hello.
52:33So, just to give you another update in relation to this case.
52:36OK, yeah.
52:36OK, so comparing it currently to the DNA profile that we've got from the semen on the stomach swabs.
52:42OK, yeah.
52:43And saliva.
52:45And I can see that that profile, you know, does match.
52:48So, does the DNA match to the person that we have in custody?
52:53Yes.
52:55We've had some really good news through.
52:57His DNA's been found on the victim, on her clothing.
53:01How can you explain that?
53:02There's no explanation for that.
53:03It absolutely confirms that he was the offender in this case.
53:09So, your semen has been bound on the victim's stomach.
53:13How can you account for that?
53:15No, come on.
53:17I believe that the fact may be due to you taking part in the commission of that offence.
53:24I just want the truth.
53:31I don't know what you've advised, but I have to say one thing.
53:37This is exactly why my mind needs to be shut down.
53:41It's not just one age, one sexual, it's a massive orbit.
53:56I'm sorry, but...
53:58So, from what you're saying to me there, was that it doesn't matter what it is, you get sexual gratification.
54:08My mind seems to be a labyrinth.
54:11I don't know, I haven't got the scheme.
54:15Now, I'm sorry, but can we stop for safety?
54:17I need to talk later than to be sick.
54:19OK.
54:20Don't we end in the interview?
54:20Yeah, interview paused at 14.34.
54:28The final decision on whether to charge the suspect rests with the Crown Prosecution Service.
54:35Yeah.
54:36We've got his semen on her stomach.
54:38There's no reasonable explanation for that.
54:41Yeah, that's perfect.
54:43Just get him charged, yeah.
54:45OK.
54:47Lovely. Bye.
54:48That's a really good result. That's a fantastic result.
54:50Well, we've got a really strong case now, because we've got our offender.
54:55His DNA is confirmed, it's a match.
54:58There's nothing better than being able to tell your family that we've caught him.
55:02We've absolutely got him nailed on for this, because we've got the forensics, etc.,
55:07and we've got our victim on board and everything.
55:10The victim throughout this has been so unbelievably brave.
55:14She's shown immense strength in actually telling somebody about what happened,
55:18given the threats that the suspect made to her family.
55:22It's a really great feeling to know that he's going to get charged with this horrific offence
55:26against this really young girl.
55:31Less than a week after the 11-year-old child awoke to find an intruder in her room,
55:36her suspected attacker is taken to be charged.
55:40So you're charged with following offences, knowing or recklessly trespassed on premises
55:45with the intention of committing a relevant sexual offence on those premises.
55:50Your second one intentionally penetrated the vagina of a girl under the age of 13
55:55with a part of your body, namely fingers, and that penetration was sexual.
55:59Your next one intentionally touched a girl under the age of 13,
56:03and the touching was sexual, namely touching and masturbating your penis.
56:07Contra section 8-1 and 3 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003.
56:12So those are the charges they've come back with.
56:13Can I ask you for you to sign on there to say I've read those charges out to you?
56:21I'm very pleased that we've successfully secured a charge.
56:26I think it's an amazing result that we get a paedophile off the streets.
56:30OK, Stephen, because of the nature of the offences, you're not going to be getting bail.
56:36You will be staying with us overnight to be collected in the morning to take them to court.
56:39All right? Is there any questions you need to ask me?
56:42No. No. OK.
56:45There's no way I don't feel that we could have secured this kind of positive result
56:49against such an individual without the forensic evidence that we've got.
56:52OK, Stephen, if you want to come with me, OK?
56:55So for us to get him off the streets, a predator like that behind bars,
56:59that's the result we're after.
57:18As a mother, this kind of job does stay with you, unfortunately.
57:22But what it does do, it kind of makes you more aware that we've made a difference here.
57:27Let's not forget how crucial the victim's been in all of this.
57:30She's been brave. She's provided all those forensic samples for us.
57:34She's been so strong in all of this.
57:36Your heart just goes out to the victim and her family.
57:39So for him to be behind bars is a relief for everyone.
57:54Every contact leaves a trace that forensic experts can follow.
57:59Explore it for yourself with the Open University's new interactive case simulator.
58:04Scan the QR code on screen or visit connect.open.ac.uk forward slash real CSI.
58:11So for now, we'll see you next time.
58:41We'll see you next time.
58:42We'll see you next time.
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