Surrey RCMP have arrested a suspect accused of luring a 9-year-old girl out of her bedroom window in Surrey and then sexually assaulting her in a nearby park.
Donovan Adams, 23, has been charged with sexual assault, kidnapping, sexual interference and committing an indecent act, Mounties announced in a news conference Tuesday.
Police kept quiet on certain details of the case, including a suspect description, to avoid re-victimizing the young girl but police commended the young victim.
“This young girl was very brave and she helped catch this man,” said Sup. Trent Rolfe, the officer in charge of investigative services with the Surrey RCMP.
Donovan is well known to police across the Lower Mainland but was not known to the victim before the alleged assault.
On Aug. 27 at around 10:40 p.m, the girl was allegedly lured out of her open bedroom window by an unknown male, according to police.
The suspect allegedly took her 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 began their investigation immediately and in the late hours of Aug. 28, investigators canvassing the area happened upon the suspect very close to the location of the incident.
“He was arrested in area of Robson Park, which is where assault occurred, so I guess to go the belief that you won’t return to the scene of the crime is incorrect,” said Rolfe.
The disturbing assault had residents on high alert and police urging people to keep their windows locked at night but with the announcement of charges, police are repeating their advice to stay vigilant.
“I don’t recall the last time we had a child taken by a stranger and then ultimately sexually assaulted,” said RCMP spokesperson Sgt. Dale Carr. “But parents always have to keep in touch with their children, talk to them about stranger danger, and not have your windows fully open.”
