Police are investigating the relationship between an arrest Sunday and earlier assault reports at the University of Victoria.
On Sept. 11 around 6 p.m. a young woman walking on a well-travelled trail near Gordon Head Road on the University of Victoria campus, when she noticed a young man near some bushes. She passed the young person and a short distance later turned around as he yelled at her. She then saw him masturbating.
UVic Campus Security quickly located the suspect and Saanich Police arrested him.
“The University of Victoria Campus Security does an excellent job at ensuring the safety of their students, facility and staff,” said A/Sgt. Jereme Leslie, Saanich Police Department.
“The University of Victoria and the Saanich police have an outstanding working relationship. The security officers quickly identified and located the suspect, then contacted us immediately.”
Oak Bay police received two reports of assaults on women jogging near or on the UVic campus last week.
“There was a male detained and dealt with by Saanich,” said Deputy Chief Kent Thom, Oak Bay Police Department. “We’ll be liaising with them a little bit later to determine if there will be charges laid in our incidents. If not, we’ll be doing our own investigation.”
A 43-year-old woman reported a male had attempted to grab her while she was out jogging near Ring Road on Sept. 5 around 6:45 a.m. She managed to step away and confront him and he rode off on a mountain bike.
The woman reported seeing the same male the day before when he stepped out of bushes along Gordon Head Road and started to approach her before turning away. He is described as being in his 20s and wearing a black hoody.
On Sept. 10, Oak Bay police received a report from an 18-year-old woman who had been jogging shortly before 8 p.m. on a trail at UVic when a man grabbed her buttocks. He was described as 19 to 21 years old, about five-foot-seven-inches tall and wearing a grey baseball hat backwards and grey track pants. He was riding a road bike with a bluetooth speaker affixed to the handle bars and was listening to rap music.
UVic Campus Security had posted a safety bulletins at key points on campus after an incident early Saturday (Sept. 10) evening. A young woman was jogging on the chip trail near Gordon Head Road when a male cyclist approached her from behind and grabbed at her in a sexual manner before riding away.
In relation to the Sunday incident, police are recommending one charge of performing an indecent act. The suspect was slated to appear in court Monday.
Police are still investigating similar events and may forward more charges to Crown Counsel.
