Police are investigating a possible link between an alleged sex assault on a crowded SkyTrain and an attack at the University of British Columbia last month.
Transit Police say they’ve identified a suspect after an eyewitness account and photo of the incident, taken on a Canada Line train during morning rush hour Thursday, went viral with more than 1,400 shares on Facebook.
“Dear girl on skytrain…I saw the guy that was sexually harassing you. He was feeling and rubbing the back of your right leg and butt with his left hand, moving up and down,” the post on the UBC Confessions Facebook page reads. “I saw you moving away from him, I could tell that you were visibly uncomfortable. I took a picture of him touching you and talked to the police right after I got off the SkyTrain at Bridgeport to UBC with the pervert.”
The witness snapped a photo of the alleged sex assault and then reported it to a Transit Police officer after exiting the train with the suspect.
The suspect was allowed to leave the station after he provided identification to the officer, as a victim had not been identified, according to spokeswoman Anne Drennan.
Drennan praised the witness for taking the photo and reporting the incident to police, adding that pictures are “incredibly helpful” in investigations.
Police are now looking to speak with the victim described in the Facebook post as an Asian female between 18 to 25 years old, 5’7” tall with a slender build, and black hair with straight bangs. The witness said she was wearing a black T-shirt and ripped black jeans with a Gucci backpack, Louis Vuitton wallet and pink iPhone.
Meanwhile, UBC Mounties say Transit Police alerted them to the case because the suspect was last seen boarding a bus to the university.
But Cpl. Brenda Winpenny said investigators haven’t been able to determine whether the suspect is linked to an attack that took place on campus Feb. 22.
In that assault, an 18-year-old UBC student was grabbed from behind as she tried to enter her home in Wesbrook Village. She fought the suspect off and called police.
“At this time our investigators are communicating with theirs to determine if there’s any similarity between their investigation and our investigation,” said Cpl. Brenda Winpenny.
She said the suspect descriptions in each cases have “little similarity,” but police haven’t ruled out the possibility that it’s the same person.
Transit Police are asking the alleged victim of the SkyTrain incident to contact them at 604-515-8300 or by texting 87-77-77.
Full post on UBC Confessions Facebook page below:
