‘Predator on the loose’ near York U., police warn
Five women assaulted over past two months, increasing in severity Toronto police released this sketch of a suspect wanted in five sexual assaults.
Toronto police have issued a safety alert after five women were sexually assaulted near York University over the past two months, adding that they are concerned by the increasing frequency and severity of the attacks. “From the beginning to (Thursday’s) incidents, they have escalated in violence,” Insp. Domenic Sinopoli told reporters at a news conference Friday.
“We have a predator on the loose who is attacking women from behind. I don’t know what his motive is, considering that some of these occurrences may start with a robbery and end with a sexual assault, or vice versa.”
The most recent incident occurred Thursday at about 9:25 p.m., when a 30-year-old woman was followed by a man near 31 Four Winds Dr., close to Finch Ave. W. and Sentinel Rd. The man threatened her with a knife, stole her cellphone and sexually assaulted her, police said.
Just 15 minutes earlier, a 30year-old woman was walking home from Finch West station, when police said she was “violently” attacked near 23 Four Winds Dr.
“The female was knocked to the ground unconscious,” said Sinopoli, head of the Toronto police sex crimes unit. “When she regained consciousness, the male forced her into a secluded pathway within the complex and sexually assaulted her. The victim was able to flee from the suspect.”
Thursday night’s attacks happened minutes after Toronto police had issued a warning about the first three assaults.
On Wednesday, at about 9:30 p.m., a 22-year-old woman was walking along a path on the north side of Finch Ave. W., approaching Fountainhead Park, near Sentinel Rd.
A man approached the victim from behind, held a knife to her throat and sexually assaulted her, police said. The man also took the woman’s phone and earbuds.
Almost two months earlier, on Oct. 31, at about 8:20 p.m., a 22-year-old woman was walking north of Fountainhead Park, near Cook and Sentinel Rds. A man approached her from behind, grabbed her and sexually assaulted her, police said.
On Oct. 24 at about 7:30 p.m., a 20-year-old woman was walking near Murray Ross Pkwy. and Sentinel Rd., also north of Fountainhead Park, when a man grabbed her from behind and sexually assaulted her, police said.
In all five cases, the women were able to break free and escape.
Police are also investigating a robbery connected to the suspect.
On Dec. 10, a woman was sitting on a park bench near the tennis courts at 455 Sentinel Rd. near Fountainhead Park when a man started talking to her. He left, but then later approached the woman from behind and grabbed her. After a brief struggle, he took her purse.
Sinopoli cautioned residents to take extra precaution when walking through the area, which he said has many dimly lit paths and laneways, such as the Finch hydro corridor recreational trail.
“We are asking members of the public to be vigilant and aware of their surroundings,” Sinopoli said.
“People will often be distracted by their phones or could be listening to music as they are walking along, and they may not hear someone approaching them from behind.”
Police would not comment on whether the women were students at York University, but Sinopoli said police have been in contact with the school and are working together on the issue.
Investigators described the suspect as 18 to 25 years old, between 5-feet-8 and 5-feet-10 with a slim build, with short black hair and thick black lips.
Anyone with further information is asked to contact police at 416-808-7474 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222TIPS (8477).