Sex attacks create fear in Burnaby
Alex Bevilacqua took her two daughters outside to play Monday. But rather than turn them loose on the local trail that passes within a few steps of her Forest Grove home, Bevilacqua loaded her children into the family vehicle and drove them outside of Burnaby.
A series of unsolved sexual assaults has Burnaby residents upsetting their day-to-day lives out of fear for their personal safety.
“The fact that the guy is still out there is freaking everybody out,” Bevilacqua said.
The latest attack — the fifth in six weeks — happened March 6 on a popular trail just a few minutes from Bevilacqua’s home. Police say the attacker is a white male, 50 or 60 years old, who stands 5-foot-7 and wore a soft dark sweatshirt with the hood pulled over his head.
Behaviours in Bevilacqua’s neighbourhood have changed since the assault, she said. A woman down the street has taken to gardening with bear spray, and even then, only when others are outside. Dog walkers are sticking to paved roads and going out in groups.
People are also driving more. Bevilacqua drove her daughters to a birthday party in the neighbouring complex rather than walk the short trail that connects them. She wasn’t the only parent to do so.
The March 6 attack sent a woman walking away from the Lake City SkyTrain Station to hospital. All of the attacks have happened in the North Burnaby-Burnaby Mountain area, north of or along the Millenium Line SkyTrain. Police say they don’t know if the attacks are linked.
Police have warned residents to avoid walking or jogging alone early in the morning or late at night, and advise people to stick to well-lit areas and to cross the street or switch directions if they think they’re being followed. Officers have also started to patrol area trails by bike.
Burnaby RCMP are holding a public safety seminar at Burnaby Mountain Secondary School Wednesday at 6 p.m. Anyone interested in attending can call 604-294-7859 or email crimeprevention@burnaby.ca.