Man raped girl after internet meeting
A 15-year-old girl was raped after meeting a man she first contacted through text messages on her mobile phone, police said today.
The teenager, from Hindley, Greater Manchester, had begun a "text relationship" with the man after a friend met him through an internet-based chat service.
But when the pair met at Wigan Station on Monday, the man walked her through the town centre to a nearby park and subjected her to a "horrendous" attack.
After raping her in broad daylight, he followed her as she walked to get a bus home before disappearing, a police spokeswoman said.
Today, detectives warned teenagers about the dangers of arranging to meet people alone who they have only previously contacted through their mobile phones or on the Internet.
Detective Constable Vic Gaffney said: "I would like to issue a warning regarding the dangers of meeting up with people that they have met via the internet or via mobile text messaging.
"You cannot be sure who people really are and I would strongly advise against meeting people on your own.
"This teenage girl was subjected to a horrendous attack in broad daylight in a public park.
"I believe that someone must have seen them and I would ask them to please contact us at Wigan CID on 0161 856 7140."
Police said the pair had been texting and speaking to each other for around a month since a 17-year-old boy the girl was friends with met him through a chat service run by mobile phone firm T-Mobile.
After signing up to the service, her friend exchanged text messages with the man, who called himself Simon, before passing on her details to him.
The man began a "text relationship" with the teenager, progressing to the pair speaking to each other and culminating in them arranging Monday's meeting.
When she arrived at Wigan Station, he contacted her to tell her he had arrived on a train from Liverpool Lime Street station.
They then walked through Wigan town centre to Mesnes Park, where the attack took place behind the park's basketball courts.
The man, aged around 24, was said to have long dark hair and a dyed red goatee beard. He had a slight Liverpool accent and wore a distinctive black jacket with "Live wild, die free" on the back.
