Suspect charged after teen allegedly confined, assaulted

Charges of aggravated sexual assault and forcible confinement have been laid against a 36-yearold Saskatoon man in connection with what police are calling a serious sexual assault.

In a news release issued on Tuesday, city police said a 19-year-old man reported being assaulted and confined between Oct. 3 and 5 at a home in the 200 block of Stensrud Road in the Willowgrove neighbourhood. According to police, the victim was able to flee out of a window and go to hospital for treatment.

The incident was reported to police on Oct. 5.

Investigators with the sex crimes unit learned the victim had met a man through a social networking app, police said.

They will not give specifics about which platform was used, a police spokesperson said in an email to the Saskatoon Starphoenix.

As a result of the investigation, a search warrant was executed at the home on Stensrud Road.

Police offered a reminder that people should use caution when communicating with strangers, especially when agreeing to meet people they’ve only interacted with on those platforms.

Police said the complainant in this case is the only one to have come forward, but it is possible there are more and they encourage anyone who may have been victimized to contact them.

A 36-year-old man, who also faces a breach charge, appeared Tuesday in Saskatoon provincial court. During his brief appearance, the man told court that an investigator is waiting for more information that could result in the charges being dropped. The man told court that he spent three hours with a Saskatoon police officer, who he said gave him her card to relay to the Crown.

The man was remanded in custody. No date for his next appearance was set.