Police hunt man after rape report

POLICE have launched a manhunt following the reported rape of a British NCO’s wife after she left a Limassol disco in the early hours on Sunday.

Police said yesterday they were looking for a 35-year-old man following the vicious attack on the woman, as she was walking along the coastal road in Limassol’s tourist area of Yermasoyia.

Apparently, the victim, from Episkopi garrison, had lost her friends coming out of a disco at around 3.30am and decided to make the journey back alone. She reported to police that she was attacked by a tall man and raped at the roadside, the police yesterday.

The incident was first reported to Episkopi British military police by the woman, and they in turn alerted Cyprus police.

“We can confirm that Cyprus police are investigating an alleged rape of a female British dependent from Episkopi,” bases spokesman Captain Jon Brown told the Cyprus Mailyesterday.

“The military police are assisting Cyprus police, and a woman officer has been assigned to the case and we are helping as much as we can. But it’s not our jurisdiction.”

Brown was also unhappy that the woman’s name was made public in the local press.

The 31-year-old victim has given a detailed description of her attacker to Limassol police.

State pathologist Sophocles Sophocleous has examined her and confirmed that she suffered scratches and bruising to the body. A Bases gynaecologist has also examined the victim.

Police described the alleged rapist as being 1.8 metres tall, of medium build, with short black hair shaved at the side, and last seen wearing blue jeans and a t-shirt.