A sex offender who disguised himself as a woman in a mad dash to assault a teenager in the street has been convicted.

Mark Brown, 30, was seen on CCTV sprinting out of his north London home in a mini skirt while pulling a wig over his head to disguise himself in order to carry out his attack.

His victim, in her late teens, had jogged by his window moments earlier and he was in a mad rush to catch her.

The court heard that the attack happened shortly after 3.55am on September 20 last year.

Brown spotted the victim go by his house and got changed before he dashed out of his flat, putting on a long silver wig as he ran.

He caught up with the victim after following her for about 500m.

The victim was unaware of anyone following her until Brown placed his hand on her shoulder. Before she had a chance to turn around to see who it was, she was sexually assaulted.

She attempted to push Brown away, shouting at him, but he pushed her to the floor. The victim continued kicking and screaming but she had her eyes closed, police said.

When she opened her eyes, her attacker fled and she only saw him running off in the distance, noticing the long silver hair.

Police detectives worked with Islington Council in order to review CCTV from across the borough, before finding the terrifying footage of Brown’s manic rush to get away from his own home.

Footage showed Brown without the wig while inside his building before he stalked his victim, staying a few feet behind her until the attack.

During his police interview, Brown was shown the CCTV footage and a still of him without the wig on but he denied his involvement and said he believed it was a woman.

When asked about the wig, Brown initially responded with ‘no comment’ before telling officers that he had bought it for a fancy dress party. He claimed he ‘threw it out ages ago’.

Detective Constable Giash Uddin said: ‘Brown is a dangerous, sexual predator and I am pleased that the jury agreed with the overwhelming evidence we gathered against him.

‘Brown was lying in wait, in disguise, ready to pounce on his unsuspecting victim. He has refused to admit his guilt throughout and forced his victim to re-live her traumatic ordeal by going to trial.

‘I’d like to praise the victim for her courage and cooperation throughout our investigation. I hope that Brown being brought to justice will give her a small measure of comfort and closure.

‘I’d also like to thank Islington Council for their help with the extensive CCTV enquiries we carried out which identified Brown as the suspect and ultimately saw him get convicted for this heinous crime.’

A court heard that Brown has previously been convicted of seven counts of sexual touching and is on the Sex Offender’s Register.

He breached his licence conditions of not being allowed out between 10pm and 8am in order to carry out the horrifying assault.

Brown, of Newington Green, north London, was found guilty of sexual assault following a trial at Wood Green Crown Court.

He will be sentenced at the same court on Friday, August 14.

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