Winnipeg man charged in random sexual assaults near Health Sciences Centre
Police said they arrested the suspect, 28, on Spence Street Thursday evening. He remains in custody and faces five counts of sexual assault, three counts of assault, and charges of sexual interference and carrying a concealed weapon.
The incidents began around 7 p.m. Wednesday, when a teenage girl reported being confronted and assaulted by an unknown man while she was walking near Elgin Avenue and Sherbrook Street.
Const. Dani McKinnon told 680 CJOB the victim did the right thing following the attack.
'She was smart. She went to the hospital and she approached a security guard. She reported the incident (and) got some help.'
Less than 15 minutes later, a Health Sciences employee was walking on William Avenue near Furby Street, police said, when she was grabbed from behind and sexually assaulted.
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Just before 7:45 p.m., another staff member told police she had been walking through the hospital tunnels when she was confronted and assaulted. A few minutes after that incident, another staff member was confronted and sexually assaulted while walking down Emily Street from McDermot Avenue.
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A fifth victim reported a sexual assault that evening near Notre Dame Avenue.
Officers from the sex crimes unit continue to investigate what police are calling random assaults. McKinnon said police are doing what they can to help the victims.
'We're at various stages of speaking to each individual victim,' she said. 'We can say that from when general patrol dealt with them yesterday, they were all very traumatized.'
Jason Linklater, president of the Manitoba Association of Health Care Professionals, said it's a scary situation.
'It's also something that unfortunately isn't surprising — that staff have been bringing to the attention of the police, the employers, the province, for a decade already, and unfortunately, it's not improving,' he said.
Linklater said he understands there are jurisdictional issues between being on and off the HSC campus, but he'd like to see provincial funding for Winnipeg police to patrol the area — or for the implementation of sheriffs who would have enforcement powers on and off the hospital campus.
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Anyone who wants to speak to a sex crimes investigator is asked to call police at 204-986-6245 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 204-786-TIPS (8477).
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