Police identify suspect in Algonquin sex assault

Police say a “tremendous” response from the public helped them quickly identify a man whose picture was released Tuesday as a suspect in a sexual assault at Algonquin College.

But police were saying little about their investigation into the assault on a woman in her 20s who had been asleep in a college lounge in the early hours of Oct. 14.

“The investigation is ongoing right now,” Const. Amy Gagnon said Wednesday, adding that “when charges are laid, or if charges are laid, then we’ll be able to speak to that.”

In the meantime, the man’s photo has been removed from Ottawa Police Service social media channels and its website, which is standard practice after an identification has been made, Gagnon said.

Patrol officers were called to the Woodroffe Avenue campus at 3:40 a.m. Oct. 14. On Tuesday, police released images of a suspect captured on surveillance cameras.

They described the suspect as white, in his late 20s or early 30s. He was wearing an orange baseball cap, a dark jacket, white T-shirt and light blue jeans.

Ruth Dunley, a spokeswoman for Algonquin College, said school security has increased its vigilance in the area since the incident.

Students, however, were not notified of the reported sexual assault by the school, she said. The college only informs students when it believes there is an “imminent threat” to the school population or campus.