The victim suffered facial injuries after being physically assaulted as she walked along the Sustrans, between Orchid Close, Balderton and Elm Avenue, in Newark.
A white man wearing a fuzzy green jacket is believed to have carried out the attack at around 3am on Sunday (2 July).
They were also reportedly wearing a distinctive-looking ring with a gold pyramid on it on their finger at the time of the incident.
A joint investigation by the Newark and Sherwood neighbourhood policing team and Newark CID has now been launched to track down the suspect.
Sergeant Rob Harrison, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: “This would’ve been a very scary experience for the victim, who has understandably been left shaken up by what’s happened.
“We are taking this report extremely seriously and will be carrying out patrols of the area as part of our inquiries in order to provide reassurance to the community.
“This incident took place early in the morning, so there may not have been many people around, but it is important that anyone who was in the area at that time gets in touch with us if they did see anything, so that we can investigate further.
“Any piece of information, however small or insignificant it might seem, could play a part in helping us identify and locate this suspect.”
Information can be reported either to the police by calling 101, quoting incident 109 of 2 July 2023, or to Crimestoppers where information can be reported anonymously on 0800 555 111.
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