Another groping suspect is at large in Metro Vancouver: Langley RCMP

Langley RCMP cruisers are shown in this CTV News Vancouver file photo.

For the third time in a single week, police in Metro Vancouver are turning to the public for help identifying a groping suspect.

Since April 20, Langley RCMP has received three reports of an unknown male approaching women from behind and inappropriately touching them, according to a statement issued Wednesday.

Mounties say the first incident happened on April 20 around 7:50 a.m. in the area of 201 Street and 64 Avenue, near the Langley Crossing Shopping Centre.

The second occurred around the same time five days later near 199A Street and 96 Avenue, according to RCMP, while the most recent incident happened on the morning of May 4, just one block east from where the first victim was groped.

“In all three incidents, each of the victims either screamed or pushed the suspect away and then reported the incident to police right away,” Mounties said in the release.

"We are working at identifying the suspect but also want to encourage the public to report similar incidents to police as soon as possible,” Cpl. Craig van Herk of Langley RCMP said in the statement.

Anyone with information regarding this series of alleged sexual assaults is asked to contact Langley RCMP at 604-532-3200.

CONCERNING TREND IN METRO VANCOUVER

The investigation underway in Langley is not the first of its kind to be launched in Metro Vancouver this week.

On Wednesday, Vancouver police arrested a 25-year-old man suspected of groping four women in separate incidents in the city’s downtown core last month, just one day after issuing a public plea for help identifying the suspect.

The VPD said they arrested the man at a home in East Vancouver “following a tip from the public.”

Coquitlam RCMP is also searching for a man suspected of two separate groping incidents on Monday, which Mounties believe may be linked.

"The nature of these incidents is concerning for both the police and the public," Coquitlam RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Alexa Hodgins said in a release issued Tuesday.

Like the statement from Langley RCMP, the one by Coquitlam Mounties commended the victims for reporting the incidents to police.

“We are appealing to the public for assistance in identifying the suspect, but to also encourage others to report any similar incidents to police," said Hodgins.

Two photos of the Coquitlam suspect, who is described as an Asian man in his 20s, have been released.

Anyone who recognized the man wanted in Coquitlam is asked to contact local Mounties at 604-945-1550 and quote file number 2023-11781.