Suspect in Plateau-Mont-Royal assaults arraigned

A 26-year-old Montreal man was arraigned Monday in connection with the alleged assaults of three women last week in the Plateau-Mont-Royal borough.

According to police, François Dulude attacked the women from behind in separate incidents after following them as they walked in the borough’s streets overnight last Thursday.

In the first two incidents, police say, the women were attacked but able to escape. In the third incident, which police say happened around 4 a.m. Friday, it’s alleged the woman was sexually assaulted.

Dulude, a convicted sex offender with a lengthy criminal record, faces a total of 13 charges related to the incidents, including robbery, forcible confinement, aggravated assault and one count of aggravated sexual assault.

He also faces a specific charge of either choking, suffocating or strangling one of the victims to render her “insensible, unconscious or incapable of resistance,” which can result in a life sentence if found guilty.

Dulude was arrested late Saturday after police asked for the public’s help to find him. Police described him as an aboriginal man with a coloured mohawk haircut and uneven teeth. When arrested, Dulude gave the address of the Old Brewery Mission homeless shelter as his residence.

He was dressed all in black as he was arraigned via video conference at the Montreal courthouse on Monday, standing silently throughout the proceedings.

The Crown objected to his release “due to the gravity and seriousness of the offences,” prosecutor Stécie Jérôme said outside the courtroom. Asked about Dulude’s previous criminal record, Jérôme said his profile would be brought up during his bail hearing, which is scheduled to take place on Tuesday at the Montreal courthouse.