Detectives arrest teenager after sex attacks on Leeds canal towpath

Detectives investigating two sexual assaults on women in Leeds at the weekend have made an arrest.

A 16-year-old boy from Bramley is currently being questioned by officers.

Three women were targeted on the canal towpath in Rodley.placeholder image
Three women were targeted on the canal towpath in Rodley.

It follows assaults on a 40-year-old woman, who was out running, and a 48-year-old woman, who was walking her dog.

Both incidents took place on Saturday morning on the canal towpath in Rodley, close to the steps running from the A1620 Leeds Outer Ring Road.

A 25-year-old woman, who was out running, was also approached around the same time.

A police spokesman said: “The 16-year-old male, from Bramley, was arrested earlier this morning in connection with the incidents on the Leeds and Liverpool Canal towpath at Rodley on Saturday morning.

“He is currently in custody and enquiries are ongoing.”

Police have previously said the attacks in Rodley are not being linked to a series of sexual assaults against women in the Burmantofts and Harehills area of the city last month.

Two people have been arrested in connection with those earlier assaults as the investigation continues.

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