A woman was attacked by a man as she walked in Athlone, Co Westmeath, last night in what was the third attack on women in the same area in eight weeks.
In the latest attack, the victim was badly hurt, according to a Garda spokeswoman.
The assault happened at about 11pm near the Athlone Institute of Technology, and the Old Dublin Road has been closed off for examination by the Garda Technical Bureau.
A photofit of the suspect was released after a previous attack
The spokeswoman could not say how badly the woman was injured or if she was taken to hospital.
In the early hours of September 23rd, another woman was attacked on the Dublin Road at Bona Valley Bridge. She was grabbed from behind before being dragged to a secluded area and attacked.
A young woman was also attacked in the early hours of August 12th last, in an incident that was featured on the last Crimecallprogramme on RTÉ television.
In that case, the woman and her friend had left a nightclub shortly after 3am and made their way to Bunavalley Bridge where they waited for a taxi. The victim waited here while her friend went further into Athlone town in search of a taxi.
While alone, she was grabbed from behind and dragged into a nearby disused bus carpark. The man beat her violently leaving her with severe cuts and bruises to her face. She managed to fight him off, and he ran away.
Gardaí have declined to say if the women were sexually assaulted.
The Crimestoppers group is offering a reward of €10,000 for information leading to arrest of the man believed to be responsible the three attacks.
Crimestoppers is to distribute posters and leaflets in English, Polish, Latvian and Lithuanian and with the suspect's description around Athlone from tomorrow.
The attacker is described as between 25 and 30 years, tall with short black hair and was wearing a dark top and jeans. He may have unexplained cuts or scratches on his face, arms or hands. Crimestoppers can be contacted free on 1800 25 00 25.
