DNA evidence leads to the arrest of Ontario man in 1981 sex assault
EDMONTON DNA evidence has led to a sexual assault charge against a 66-year-old man for an attack in a northwest Edmonton parkade nearly 40 years ago.
On Sept. 18, 1981, city police officers responded to the 3:30 a.m. report of a sexual assault near Lancaster Terrace and 156 Avenue, where a 36-year-old woman was attacked while exiting her vehicle, police said Wednesday.
The man also reportedly took the woman’s purse. While an investigation was conducted at the time, police were unable to identify or locate a suspect.
In October 2018, investigators with the Edmonton police historical crimes section re-evaluated the file. Staff Sgt. Ryan Tebb, the head of the unit, said that review identified exhibits that investigators sent to the RCMP lab for further testing.
“Ultimately, we ended up getting a hit back,” Tebb said in an interview on the steps of police headquarters Wednesday.
“DNA was just kind of emerging,” he said of the early 1980s. “Saving exhibits wouldn’t have been common in that time period, but in this particular investigation we were fortunate enough to have some exhibits we could work with.”
The National DNA Bank, which has an index of known offenders, was matched to John Edward Beausoleil, who was 27 at the time of the crime. Tebb would not comment on Beausoleil’s criminal history, but said the fact his genetic material was in the database means a judge previously ordered him to surrender a DNA sample.
With help from the Ontario Provincial
Police, Beausoleil was arrested at his home in Orillia, Ont., on Feb. 26. He has been brought back to Edmonton, where he is facing charges of rape and robbery under the 1981 Criminal Code of Canada.
Prior to the arrest, Edmonton city police analysts tracked down the complainant and made sure she wanted to move forward with charges.
“Like any other sexual assault, our complainants … really are in control of the process,” Tebb said. “They have the ability to make decisions about whether we’re going to move forward with these investigations and whether we’re going to move forward with charges or not.”
Edmonton’s historical crimes section — which investigates cold case sex assaults, homicides and missing persons — began a twoyear review of its unsolved sexual assault files in 2016.
Investigators reviewed 2,400 files and identified 259 unsolved sex crimes for further review. Charges have since been laid in two of those investigations, Tebb said.
He added police always consult with Crown prosecutors about the viability of a case before approaching complainants.
“We’re trying to be mindful, and, really, our goal is not to re-victimize people needlessly. We are doing the legwork in the background, making sure we have a case … before we ever contact our complainants.”
Beausoleil was scheduled to appear in Edmonton provincial court Wednesday morning for a bail hearing.