Police in three different jurisdictions across the GTA say they are looking for a man accused of assaulting women in tanning salons – in some cases by licking their feet.
York Regional Police allege a man entered a tanning salon on Wednesday and asked a woman if he could see her shoe, “because he was shopping for a relative.” He apparently smelled the shoe and then fled with it.
That incident happened around 3:45 p.m. in the Yonge Street and 16th Avenue area of Richmond Hill.
Police in nearby Innisfil, Ont., say a similar incident took place at a tanning salon in their region on Wednesday.
“While being shown a tanning room, the man sexually assaulted the lone female clerk,” South Simcoe Police say. “He immediately left the building in an unknown direction.”
That incident occurred around 5:30 p.m. at the Adam and Eve Tanning Salon on Innisfil Beach Road.
On Thursday around 11 a.m., police say a man entered a tanning salon near Yonge Street and Canyon Hill in Richmond Hill, and began asking a woman about her boots, York Regional Police said.
“The suspect then grabbed the victim’s leg, removed her boot and sock and licked her foot without her consent,” police say. He fled with her boot and sock.
Later that same day, police in Barrie say that a man entered a tanning salon on Bayfield Street and started talking to a female employee about her shoes.
“The suspect drew her attention to her footwear and then dropped down on all fours, grabbed the employee’s leg and removed her footwear and then began licking her foot without her consent,” Barrie police say.
“Investigators believe this suspect may be responsible for other similar incidents in the City of Barrie.”
South Simcoe Police describe the suspect as white, age 25 to 30, with medium-length hair and a brown beard. “He is well groomed, wearing a black pea coat and blue jeans,” police say.
Police in Barrie and York Region both describe the suspect as white, around 5’8 tall and approximately 30, with a medium build and weighing about 170 pounds. He has short reddish-brown hair and was sporting a beard, a bomber jacket, black dress pants and brown leather boots.
The suspect's image was captured on security footage.
Police are asking anyone with information on the suspect to call the York Regional Police Special Victims Unit at 1-866-876-5423, ext. 7071, or contact Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-TIPS, online at www.1800222tips.com or by texting a tip to CRIMES (274637).
Alternatively, they can call Barrie Police investigators at 705-725-7025, ext. 2129.
