Burnaby RCMP respond to string of sex assaults
Nearly 150 people packed a Burnaby high school Wednesday for a personal-safety seminar organized by the Burnaby RCMP, after five sex assaults were reported in the last three months.
RCMP hosted the presentation Wednesday at Burnaby Mountain Secondary, hoping to spread the word about a recent string of sex assaults that began in late January.
“I think people are concerned — genuinely concerned — and so are we,” said Staff Sgt. Major John Buis, noting 95 people had preregistered for the free seminar as of Wednesday morning. “We’ve got someone out there — possibly a number of people out there — who are attacking women.”
Chris Drouin, a retired Mountie and current City of Burnaby staffer, was tasked with speaking to the crowd, which was mostly female and included many parents with their kids, on the basics of personal safety. Topics included practical safety tips, how to recognize danger and what to do in a compromising situation.
Drouin reminded the audience that 90 per cent of sexual-assault cases are perpetrated by someone known to the victim.
“At the end of the day — and this is so important — only the person involved in the personal-safety situation can assess what his or her best options are because there is no golden rule,” Drouin reminded the crowd.
Afsaneh Ebrahimi attended Wednesday’s seminar with her 13-year-old daughter after hearing the recent reports about the assaults in their neighbourhood.
“As a parent, you just — God forbid — imagine your own child in that predicament and that’s horrible,” said Ebrahimi. “It’s awareness, right? Some things you know, but you need that awareness to remind you, to get you on your toes. It’s good to bring people together and get them aware and let their children know again, for the 10th time.”
The workshop was hosted as part of the Burnaby RCMP’s Safe Community series, which has been running since 2013. Each session covers a different topic related to safety in the community, such as apartment security, online safety for teens, vandalism and graffiti, and how to recognize drug activity.
While most of the Burnaby RCMP’s safety seminars are planned far in advance, Buis said Wednesday’s session on personal safety came as a direct response to the recent string of attacks.
Since January, five separate sex assaults have been reported in North Burnaby, with three occurring within a week. In all five incidents, a woman was approached by an unknown man in a public area. Three of the five incidents occurred along a SkyTrain route, while two others occurred on or near a popular walking trail. After the fourth and fifth incidents were reported — both happened within the same weekend — Burnaby RCMP announced a new task force had been created to investigate the five incidents.
“Tips are coming in (to the task force), we’re following up on those tips, and we’re also working closely — not just with police agencies, but other public-safety organizations like Canada Border Services,” said Buis.
While police said it was too early to know if the five incidents were linked, investigators acknowledged there were “similar characteristics” in each of the cases. In each of the incidents the suspect is described as a white man about 40-something to 50-something years of age, about 5-foot-6 to 5-foot-8 in height, with a slim to medium build. In all five cases the suspect wore dark athletic clothing.