Vancouver police have arrested a man after a string of sexual assaults in East Vancouver last week.
Nineteen-year-old Richmond resident Bilali Miyonkuru is charged with sexual assault causing bodily harm and robbery.
On April 26, a 22-year-old woman was walking in the area of Monmouth Avenue and Joyce Street fled and called police after being approached by a man from behind who asked her not to move.
About a half hour later, a 34-year-old woman near Joyce Street and Vanness Avenue was entering an apartment building when she was grabbed from behind by the suspect, who ran away after she screamed. A third woman, 21, was pulled into the bushes and was sexually assaulted outside an unoccupied house on East 46th Avenue near Doman Street.
The three assaults happened within a span of two hours.
Following the assaults, police appealed to the public for their assistance to help identify the man responsible, and VPD spokesperson Sgt. Randy Fincham said video footage played a role in identifying the suspect.
“I can’t mention specifically what led us to this certain man who was arrested but we will in the future continue to rely on video footage for crimes such as this and will continue to reach out to the public to share that video footage with us and help solve crimes,” said Fincham.
Miyonkuru remains in custody.
Anyone with information about this case is asked to call investigators at 604-717-3720 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
