RCMP respond to string of sexual 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. The latest incident took place March 6.

“I think people are concerned — genuinely concerned — and so are we,” said Staff Sgt. Major John Buis, noting 95 people had pre-registered 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 discussed at the workshop 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 covers topics such as apartment security, online safety for teens, vandalism and graffiti, and how to recognize drug activity.