The victim of an unsolved rape has told of her trauma knowing her attacker is still free twenty years on.

On July 22, 2003, the woman, then 16, reported she was attacked and threatened at knifepoint while out walking.

The unknown man dragged her into some bushes and was told “Do as I say or I will kill you”.

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He is then said to have fled in a mahogany-coloured car.

It happened on a pathway between Village Lane and Boston Avenue in Washington, near the junction of the A1231 and Parkway.

Speaking twenty years on the victim, who is entitled life-long anonymity under law, told how she continues to look over her shoulder everyday as she pleaded for the public to help find her attacker

She said: “I continue to live everyday knowing the man who brutally attacked me and has created so much trauma, is still out there free.

“I wake every day and pray that an offender will be caught, so that I can feel that someone has been made accountable for the horrendous impact this has had on my life.

“Please help me to find this man, who has not yet paid for his actions 20 years on. I need this case kept alive, so he knows this is not forgotten. Someone out there must know something and if you do, please come forward to help me to find justice. 

“Everywhere I go and everything I do, I am looking over my shoulder and will continue to, until the day he is found.”

Police on the case knocked 500 doors, took more than 350 statements, and released an artist’s impression of the man.

Officers are now joining the victim’s call to the public to help find the man.

Detective Superintendent Alan Cairns, of Northumbria Police’s Safeguarding Department, is encouraging anyone who may have information to come forward. He said: “I want to recognise the immense and continuous courage the victim has shown throughout this time and we want to be able to bring her the justice she deserves.

“Twenty-years on from the attack, we are again appealing to the public to come forward if you have any information at all in relation to this case.

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“While we recognise a number of years have now passed, someone could still hold the key in helping bring justice.

“No matter how small or insignificant you feel what you know may be, we would urge you to come forward – it’s never too late to do the right thing.”

A force spokesperson added: “Anyone with information is asked to ring 101 or visit the ‘Tell us Something’ section of the Northumbria Police website, quoting log NP-20230721-0267.”