Police believe Joseph McCann, 34, is being hidden by a friend or family member
A rape suspect wanted for abducting and attacking three women is being hidden by a friend or family member, according to police.
Joseph McCann, 34, is being hunted for three 'horrific' attacks over a period of four days in April.
Two of the attacks took place in London while the other took place in Watford.
Speaking outside New Scotland Yard today, Detective Chief Inspector Katherine Goodwin said that the fugitive is being hidden by 'someone who knows him'.
The detective added that McCann is thought to still be in the country.
She said : 'We are investigating three horrific incidents of rape and abduction against women and we are appealing for help from the public to locate Joseph McCann, who is wanted for questioning in connection with the offences.'
'Our enquiries strongly indicate that McCann is being hidden by someone who knows him.
'Whatever your reason, if you are loyal to him, or fearful of him, please call us or share any information 100% anonymously via Crimestoppers.
'McCann is wanted in connection with violent, sexually-motivated offences and it is vital that he be apprehended.'
Detective Goodwin called on anyone sheltering McCann to imagine if 'your mother, sister, daughter, niece or friend had experienced such an awful attack and put yourselves in the shoes of their family'.
McCann, who is accused of abducting three women before raping them, is believed to have been released from prison early on licence because he was thought to 'no longer be dangerous'.
The 34-year-old, who police describe as 'extremely dangerous', is thought to have been released in February 2017 after being jailed for aggravated burglary.
The Ministry of Justice is reportedly conducting an 'urgent review' into the decision to release McCann, according to the BBC.
Officers have issued an appeal to trace 33-year-old Joseph McCann (pictured) wanted in connection with the abduction and rape of two women
His release should have been decided by the Parole Board as he was subject to an indeterminate sentence but it was incorrectly treated as a 'determinate sentence' with an automatic release, the BBC reports.
McCann was thought to have been released after serving half of his three-year jail term. He committed the offence while on licence for a previous burglary.
In 2008 McCann, then aged 23, was sentenced to an indeterminate prison sentence for threatening to stab an 85-year-old man in his home.
He told the elderly man 'give me money or I will knife you' before taking his wallet and banking papers.
McCann was given an indeterminate sentence, meaning he could only have been released if he convinced a parole board he was no longer dangerous. His release two years ago suggests he was able to do that.
The suspected rapist is now being hunted for abducting three women off the street before attacking them over a period of four days in April.
The car he was driving is said to have been a silver or grey Ford S-Max people carrier with false registration plates (pictured)
Initially suspected of two abductions and attacks, he is also wanted in connection with the rape of a 21-year-old woman at knifepoint in Watford in the early hours of April 21 - four days before the the first two incidents.
The victim was forced into a blue Mondeo and driven to numerous locations around the town for six hours, before she was raped.
A reward of up to £20,000 is being offered for information which leads to the arrest and prosecution of McCann.
The Metropolitan Police issued an appeal with a £20,000 reward for information yesterday to trace McCann for two suspected abductions and rapes, after victims were snatched off the street in Chingford and Edgware, both in north London, before being raped.
McCann, who is known to use false names - most recently Joel - has links to Watford, Hertfordshire, Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire and Ipswich in Suffolk, police said.
As news of the third rape emerged, Hertfordshire Police said: 'We are investigating the rape of a 21-year-old woman in
