A former BC Lions player has been charged with sexual assault after a "groping-style" incident on Labour Day.
Vancouver Police say officers witnessed a man fondling a woman at a bus stop around East Broadway and Commercial Drive around 7:30 p.m.
"When officers tried to arrest the man he tried to escape on foot and was finally taken into custody after a very violent struggle with our officers," Const. Lindsey Houghton said.
Joshua Joseph Boden, 23, is charged with sexual assault, obstruction and assaulting a police officer.
The Surrey resident appeared in court Wednesday and will remain in custody until his next appearance September 16.
The Vancouver Police Department Sex Crimes Unit is appealing for anyone who witnessed the incident to call them at 604-717-3473 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
Investigators are also looking at another sexual assault against a woman waiting at a bus stop on Burrard Street in downtown Vancouver September 3.
The suspect in that case is described as a black man around 26-years-old, five feet, 11 inches tall with a muscular build.
A troubled history
Boden's former coach, the BC Lions' Wally Buono, says he's saddened by the latest news.
"At the end of the day, you gotta do things to help people, but you know they have to help themselves," Buono said. "Unfortunately, it didn't work out."
Boden was a wide receiver for the Lions during the 2006-07 CFL seasons, but was cut from the team after being charged with domestic assault, mischief and theft in April 2008.
The charges were dropped four months later, when his ex-girlfriend, Kimberly Hallgarth, said she couldn't remember key details of the assault.
Hallgarth, a 33-year-old tanning salon owner and single mother, was found dead in her rented Burnaby home in March 2009. Boden was never identified as a suspect in the case.
Dale Carr of the B.C. Integrated Homicide Investigation Team said Thursday Hallgarth's murder was not a random act.
Boden was given a second chance in the CFL with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, signing with the club in September 2008. He was cut after only one game, ironically against the BC Lions, when the player he was replacing recovered from his injury.
