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Police have closed their investigation into the suspected rape of a teenage girl at a Gorey bus stop on Halloween night, saying they have exhausted all lines of investigation.
Announcing that the 'Operation Hectare' probe had reached its "natural conclusion", Police said they assessed a total of 75 "people of interest".
Only one arrest was made during the course of the investigation, but the man was later released on bail as Police released an e-fit of the attacker (pictured top). No further arrests have been made since that point.
The detective leading the operation, Detective Superintendent Stewart Gull said 14 witnesses who passed the bus stop at the time of the alleged offence were traced - all of whom described seeing a "lone female".
Pictured: Stewart Gull, the detective who led the 'Operation Hectare' investigation.
He added that he understood the investigation's closure may "leave some lingering nervousness with the public", but added his team believed the risk of a repeat occurrence to be "extremely low".
News of the investigation's closure comes as it nears two months since the attack alleged to have taken place in the early hours of 1 November, while the teen waited to be picked up by her mother at a bus shelter on La Rue à Don in Grouville around midnight.
She claimed a man twice offered her a lift, which was declined on both occasions. It was after the second that the driver was said to have raped the young woman.
Police described the public response to the appeals for more information about what happened as "unprecedented", stating that they received more than 150 calls providing information.
Pictured: A poster appealing for information about the attack.
Their own enquiries, meanwhile, included visiting 300 homes, taking 85 statements, and viewing 100 hours of CCTV.
Video and photo reconstructions of the young woman's journey to the bus stop were also created, and hundreds of posters in different languages put up around the island.
Detective Superintendent Gull described the work as "methodical and painstaking", adding: "I am absolutely confident that we have explored every avenue open to us and I recognise that this will leave some lingering nervousness with the public, but it is our belief that the risk of a repeat occurrence is extremely low. Of course, we would always recommended that people take reasonable steps to safeguard themselves, irrespective of this case.
"Whilst we would wish for a more conclusive end to this investigation, I must pay tribute to the officers, police staff and partners who have worked diligently to get to this point. I am also extremely thankful to the public and the media whose information and support has been invaluable and a real demonstration of the strong sense of community that exists in Jersey."
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