Man appears in court after being charged with rape at country park

Alan Anthony Rothwell, 34, of Mowbray Street in Newcastle, has been charged with rape and appeared at Newcastle Crown Court on Saturday.

The charge comes after a woman reported she had been raped in the Rising Sun Country Park on Monday, March 28, at about 4.10pm near the Pit Heap area.

Detective Chief Inspector Shelley Hudson said: “We can confirm a 34-year-old man has now been charged in connection with this incident.

“I would like to thank the public for their continued cooperation and support.

"Enquiries are still very much ongoing and we are again asking people to come forward, and are especially interested in anyone who might have footage such as CCTV or dashcam, which could be useful to our investigation.

“Now someone has been charged, we would also ask people to avoid speculation which could impact the case going forward.”

She added: “Thankfully, incidents of this nature are rare, but when they do occur we are committed to supporting and safeguarding victims, and will use every tactic at our disposal to ensure anyone responsible is brought to justice.”

Police are keen to hear from anyone who has CCTV, dashcam or doorbell footage which shows a man in the area of the Rising Sun Country Park between 12pm to 6pm on Monday, matching the following description: a white male, late 20s or early 30s, wearing grey jogging bottoms, black jacket, riding a black peddle bike. He is between 5ft 6in and 5ft 10in tall, clean shaven and of medium build.

Anyone with CCTV that they believe may be useful is asked to upload it to https://mipp.police.uk/operation/10NP22B04-PO1

Anyone with further information which they believe may be useful is also asked to contact police via the Tell Us Something pages of the Northumbria Police website or contact 101 quoting reference NP-20220328-0700 or contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.