Women come forward after Hampton indecent exposure arrest

On Wednesday (October 6), police said they had arrested a 26-year-old man for indecent exposure after receiving reports of at least two instances in Hampton.

The arrest came days after a public appeal to trace the suspect that the Met Police in Richmond said had prompted "numerous" women to come forward describing their own experiences of indecent exposure.

"Male arrested for Indecent Exposure in #Hampton. On Thursday 30th September we released an appeal to identify a male who we wanted to speak to in relation to two reports of indecent exposure in Hampton. On Friday 1st October a 26 year old male was arrested," a spokesperson for the borough police force described.

When we released this appeal we received numerous comments from women who shared their experiences as victims of indecent exposure. It was concerning to read these accounts and we believe this is an under-reported crime.

— Richmond Police (@MPSRichmond) October 6, 2021

"The 26 year old male was arrested for two counts of indecent exposure which took place on the 22nd July 2021 . The male was interviewed and bailed to a date later in the month pending further investigation. When we released this appeal we received numerous comments from women who shared their experiences as victims of indecent exposure. It was concerning to read these accounts and we believe this is an under-reported crime," the Twitter thread from Richmond MPS announcing the arrest continued.

"We do not underestimate how difficult it can be for people to talk about sexual offences, but we would urge anyone who is the victim of this sort of offending to report it to us so that we can respond and offer support. If you have been a victim of indecent exposure, no matter how long ago, please report it to us so that we can offer support and build a picture of offending in the area... If you see someone commit indecent exposure, call 999 immediately. This gives us the best possible chance of identifying the offender, who is commonly unknown to the victim. Informing us at the time means we can conduct an immediate area search and offer victim care," the statement read.

The news and police comments on the issue arrive amidst a crisis in public confidence in the Met Police after the sentencing of Wayne Couzens, the Met officer who kidnapped, raped and killed Sarah Everard.

The IOPC is currently investigating indecent exposure allegations involving Couzens, and the response of the Met and Kent Police.

With the policing of violence and harassment of women in society by men now facing broad public scrutiny and criticism from social movements like Reclaim these Streets, the government announced an inquiry into the Met Police's conduct in relation to Sarah Everard's murder.