The announcement that police initially arrested the wrong man for allegedly luring a 9-year-old girl out of her bedroom and sexually assaulting her in a park in Surrey has led to renewed calls for improved public safety in the city.
Newton Community Association spokesman Douglas Elford told CTV News on Friday that his group was surprised that the public was not immediately informed when it became clear that the man who confessed to the crime did not actually commit it.
“We were a little bit shocked when we heard that the wrong person was arrested,” Elford said. “The fact that the culprit was still out on the streets was a little bit concerning to the people in Surrey.”
Surrey RCMP announced on Thursday that charges had been dropped against the 23-year-old man original suspected of the crime. At the same time, they announced that Chilliwack resident Cory Schaumleffel, 28, had been charged with kidnapping, sexual assault, sexual interference, indecent act, and break and enter with intent in connection to the August incident.
“My view is this is a good thing that’s happened,” said Surrey RCMP Chief Supt. Bill Fordy on Friday. “We’ve prevented a wrongful conviction or a miscarriage of justice that could very well have taken place based on the words of a man who hadn’t committed an offense.”
A source tells CTV News that Schaumleffel has more than 30 criminal convictions, mostly for breaking and entering. Last July, he was convicted of theft and possessing a weapon in Vancouver. On Aug. 1, he was charged with breaching the conditions of his sentence order. He was charged with the same thing on Aug. 28, just a day after the girl was assaulted.
Schaumleffel was arested on an unrelated matter on Sept. 13, 11 days after police charged the wrong person in the Surrey case. He has remained either in custody or under house arrest since then.
With the murder of Serena Vermeersch -- allegedly killed by a man with a long criminal history who was in violation of probation at the time of her death -- and other crimes still fresh in the community’s memory, Elford hopes the 47 new cops Surrey plans to hire will help keep tabs on chronic offenders.
“Public safety is the number one concern,” he said. “We’ve been saying this for a long time. We need more police in the streets to protect us. We want a liveable city. We want to be able to walk alone at night in Surrey without fear of being a victim of crime.”
Mayor Dianne Watts said Friday that better communication is needed between ministries in monitoring known offenders living in the city.
“It’s not just following these people around,” she said. “There has to be measures put in place in terms of where they’re living and what services they are accessing.”
The assault took place on Aug. 27 at around 10:40 p.m., when the victim was allegedly lured out of her open bedroom window by an unknown male.
Police investigators said the perpetrator took the girl to nearby Robson Park and sexually assaulted her, then reportedly took her to the yard of a neighbourhood home and told her to stay put.
The girl fled back home and reported the assault to her mother.
Police arrested the original suspect on Sept. 2 after he made comments that directly implicated himself in the incident. At the time, police credited the young victim with helping to catch her attacker, but did not elaborate on how.
An analysis of the original suspect’s comments, in combination with new physical evidence, led police to conclude that the original suspect did not commit the crime.
On Thursday, Surrey RCMP spokesman Cpl. Bert Paquet told reporters police are still trying to determine why the original suspect confessed to a crime he didn’t commit.
Experts say it’s not unusual for mentally ill or developmentally delayed people to confess to high-profile crimes. Usually, investigators rule them out early.
Criminologist Rob Gordon wonders if public fear over this particular crime pressured mounties to close the case too quickly.
“That is a possibility,” he said. “That’s always a danger. Most experienced investigators will resist being rushed into a conclusion or being rushed into a charge.”
Paquet said physical evidence at the scene was key in identifying Schaumleffel as a suspect. Surrey RCMP arrested Schaumleffel on Oct. 13.
The original suspect is no longer under investigation and won’t face any charges for making a false police statement.
With files from CTV Vancouver’s Penny Daflos and Michele Brunoro
