Man who targeted and attacked women walking in Manchester City Centre jailed for over 4 years

Robert Emmerson (22/07/1984) of Thirlmere Avenue was found guilty of five counts of sexual assault and seven counts of indecent exposure after he attacked young women walking near the Mancunian Way following a trial at Manchester Crown Court.

He was jailed today (Thursday 30 January 2025) at Manchester Crown Court to four years and six months with a Sexual Harm Prevention Order with restrictions for life, following an investigation into a series of sexual assaults and indecent exposure offences against young women in Manchester City Centre from November 2023 to April 2024.

A number of sexual assaults were reported to police, starting in November 2023 to April 2024. Victims reported that Emmerson would follow the women as they walked alone. He exposed himself and committed sexual assaults in the underpass beneath the Mancunian Way. He attacked the women by grabbing them from behind in a 'bear hug', traumatising them, before he pinned them down to the ground and groped them.

After numerous reports to police of incidents of the same nature, detectives identified a pattern of offending and investigated them as a linked series.

Through an in-depth investigation, hundreds of hours of CCTV were carefully combed through by detectives, and this uncovered an unknown man. This man was seen arriving at the scene after catching the bus from Wythenshawe and seen walking round the city centre after he attacked the women, before catching the bus back to Wythenshawe.

When he was interviewed, Emmerson was questioned on why CCTV of a male matching his description was seen travelling to the city centre minutes before the first incident, and then leaving the city centre immediately after the offence. To this, and to every question put to him, Emmerson replied no comment.

From the CCTV, detectives realised that they had a man they quickly needed to identify before he attacked again, and turned to the public for their assistance in identifying him. His image was released to the media, and several members of public came forward, suggesting the male was Robert Emmerson. He was arrested on 22 April 2024 at a property in Wythenshawe.

Upon searching the property, a coat was recovered. The same coat that Emmerson was seen in the CCTV footage fleeing the scenes after his offences. Detectives also looked back through his records on the police database and saw that in 2015 Emmerson was arrested. In this custody image he was wearing the very same grey coat with a black collar.

Following his arrest, five of Emmerson’s victims were supported by officers as they selected Emmerson as their attacker during an identity parade.

Even though Emmerson pleaded not guilty, he was unanimously convicted by a jury and was found guilty of five counts of sexual assault and seven counts of indecent exposure following a trial at Manchester Crown Court.

Robert Emmerson

Detective Constable Tamsyn Muller of GMP’s Longsight Criminal Investigation Department said: “The investigation team worked tirelessly to get this case to court and diligently worked behind the scenes to gather evidence to create a clear and concise timeline of events to ensure that Emmerson was found guilty. 

“We don’t underestimate the impact that this will have on the survivors of this crime as they move forwards with their lives.

“Emmerson targeted lone women and was so brazen that he attacked them in the daytime, not caring if people passing by could hear or see him committing his crimes.

“I’d like to thank the young women who reported these offences to us, and for their support whilst we were building a case against Emmerson. Their bravery in reporting this and assisting us whilst the case was in court must not be underestimated. Emmerson’s crimes were despicable, and he did this purely for his own gratification and throughout the trial had no remorse for the welfare of the women.

“It is with the victim’s support we are here today. This man is behind bars now and we hope this goes some way in showing that these offences are treated with the utmost seriousness and sensitivity.

"We know that this sentence does not make up for the terror these women faced at the hands of Emmerson, but we hope it goes some way in reassuring members of the public that a dangerous man is off our streets.”