Guilty plea entered in 3 sexual assaults reported on transit in Metro Vancouver
A SkyTrain arrives at Commercial Station on Jan. 15, 2019.
A man accused of three sexual assaults on Metro Vancouver's transit system has entered guilty pleas to all three offences, officials say.
The B.C. Prosecution Service confirmed Tuesday that pleas had been entered by Grant Lionel Houle.
Houle's next court appearance will be later this month, during which a date for sentencing will be fixed, the Crown said.
The accused, who was 39 at the time, was charged with two assaults in late 2019.
Metro Vancouver Transit Police said one assault occurred the morning of Dec. 3. A young woman got into a SkyTrain car at Nanaimo Station, and as she stood on the packed train, felt a man grope her buttocks several times.
Police said she looked at the man next to her, as the train approached Commercial-Broadway Station, and saw his hand near her body. She asked another passenger to push the onboard alarm for her. The suspect was found and arrested.
At that time, police said, he had another warrant out for his arrest in connection with a sexual assault on a bus six months earlier.
The BCPS said he was also charged with an incident reported in 2017, to which he also pleaded guilty.
His arrest in December came a short time after local police launched a campaign meant to educate the public that unwanted sexual touching is a form of sexual assault.
"Be on notice. If you touch someone inappropriately, if you grope someone, we will come after you," then-spokesperson for the MTVP Sgt. Clint Hampton said at the time.
"We will complete a thorough investigation and we will arrest you. Hands off."
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