Lower Mainland police forces say six people have now been charged in relation to a number of stranger attacks and sex assaults in the Vancouver area.
The five men and one young offender – a teenaged boy – are accused in 13 assaults dating back to January.
Charges against three of the accused – David Tucker, Yuan Zhi Gao, Jason White – were previously reported, as was the arrest of the young offender.
The new announced charges are in relation to assaults that took place in Vancouver and the North Shore.
Michal Popek is charged with four counts of sexual assault and one count of break and enter connected to incidents in Vancouver on March 26 and April 9 and Burnaby on February 18 and March 6.
Vaughan Englot is charged with three counts of sexual assault for incidents in Vancouver on January 15 and in North Vancouver on January 11 and 19th.
The youth, who cannot be legally named, faces two charges of sexual assault, one count of assault and two counts of indecency in relation to incidents on March 3, 4, 5 and 6th in Vancouver, in the Cambie corridor.
The teen was arrested with the help of a Good Samaritan after allegedly attacking two women walking dogs at night in the Fairview neighbourhood.
None of the women knew their attackers, say police, and in all but one incident at UBC, the assaults were committed by a single individual.
Police said despite the arrests there are still a number of unsolved sex crimes in the area, but they are working hard to solve them.
Vancouver Police Superintendent Mike Porteous said multiple police agencies collected video evidence and tips from the community to put together a profile of the suspects.
Porteous said investigators worked closely with the “brave women” who came forward to report the crimes, despite being traumatized and terrified.
The majority of incidents took place on the UBC campus, in Burnaby, the Cambie Street corridor and the North Shore.
“These crimes justifiably scared people living and working in those communities,” said RCMP Chief Superintendent Jodie Boudreau. “Our message should be loud and clear - those who prey on others will be held accountable.”
