Police are looking for a man who was linked by DNA analysis to two disturbing alleged incidents in Canberra involving a woman and a child almost a year apart.
ACT Policing said the suspect allegedly grabbed a woman from behind and tried to to sexually assault her as she was was running in the Tuggeranong Hill Nature Reserve, in the Theodore area, at about 7.20am on March 1, 2025.
She was able to break free and and run away before calling police.
Then at about 8.40am on February 24 this year the same man allegedly approached and physically interacted with a child who was walking with her bicycle on the Theodore playing fields near Ern Florence Crescent.
Police said they have since linked the same man to both incidents through DNA analysis, and released a face-fit image in an effort to identify him.
“The man is described as Caucasian in appearance, with a tall and slender build, brown curly hair, and a beard,” police said.
“At the time of the February incident, he was wearing black jeans and a shirt featuring printed artwork or patterns, with red and orange on one side and green and blue on the other.”
Detectives are now urging anyone who recognises the man to come forward, and asking the man to present himself at the nearest police station.
Header image: A face-fit image released by police (ACT Policing).
