Police take rare step of releasing images of teen boy allegedly responsible for sex assaults on Toronto trails
Editor’s note: Judicial authorization to release an image of the suspect in this offence has expired and the image has therefor been removed from this story
Police have taken the rare step of releasing images of a teenage boy who they believe is responsible for as many as four sexual assaults on trails in Toronto.
In a news release issued Thursday, investigators said they had been granted judicial authorization to share the images in an effort to identify the suspect.
All four of the alleged assaults occurred last month and the victim in each instance is a woman.
- Download our app to get local alerts to your device
- Get the latest local updates right to your inbox
Police said the first two attacks occurred on the Gatineau Hydro Corridor Trail, near Birchmount Road, on July 7 and July 8 at approximately 5:50 p.m. and 4:59 p.m., respectively.
In both of those incidents, police allege the suspect stopped each of his victims with his bicycle as they were travelling along the trail and sexually assaulted them.
Police said the second set of assaults happened on July 22 and July 23 on the East Don Valley Trail near Wynford Drive and Sloane Avenue.
Police said during the incident on July 22, the teenager began talking to his 54-year-old victim and asked her for water while she was walking on the trail. He then sexually assaulted her and rode away on his bicycle, police said.
In the July 23 incident, the suspect allegedly assaulted a 52-year-old woman from behind who was walking along the trail before he rode off in an unknown direction.
Following an investigation into all four incidents, police said last week they believe the same teenager is responsible for each alleged assault.
He is described by police as standing five-foot-five inches tall, with a thin build and short brown or light-blond hair.
- READ MORE: Toronto police believe same teenage boy responsible for 4 sex assaults on east-end trails
In images released by investigators on Thursday, the suspect appears to be wearing a red t-shirt, black shorts, while wearing a “distinctive brown camouflage-like design” backpack and riding a dark mountain bike.
Youth offenders can typically not be identified by police under the terms of the Youth Criminal Justice Act. However, a judicial authorization gives investigators the ability to share the images released today in hopes of identifying the suspect.
The authorization will expire on Monday at 12 p.m.
Anyone with information related to the investigation is asked to contact police at 416-808-4100 or Crime Stoppers.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
The kids from 'Mrs. Doubtfire' are all SUPER grown up now, and we're not OK
The adorable trio of child actors from the 1993 classic comedy 'Mrs. Doubtfire,' which starred the late and great Robin Williams, are all grown up and looking back on their seminal time together.
Two killed after collision with truck on Hwy. 417 near Limoges, Ont.
Ontario Provincial Police say two people were killed after a car and a transport truck collided in the westbound lanes of Highway 417 near Limoges, Ont. on Tuesday afternoon.
‘We made them safer and more fun’: Here’s what’s new about e-scooters
Electric scooters (e-scooters) have been gaining popularity in the capital and this season comes with some changes and updates.
Houston braces for flooding to worsen in wake of storms
High waters flooded neighborhoods around Houston on Saturday following heavy rains that have already resulted in crews rescuing hundreds of people from homes, rooftops and roads engulfed in murky water.
A Chinese driver is praised for helping reduce casualties in a highway collapse that killed 48
A Chinese truck driver was praised in local media Saturday for parking his vehicle across a highway and preventing more cars from tumbling down a slope after a section of the road in the country's mountainous south collapsed and killed at least 48 people.
Canadian Auger-Aliassime reaches first Masters final in Madrid with another walkover
Montreal's Felix Auger-Aliassime has advanced to his first ATP Masters final, and he hasn't had to play all that much tennis to do it.
Drew Carey is never quitting 'The Price Is Right'
Drew Carey took over as host of 'The Price Is Right' and hopes he’s there for life. 'I'm not going anywhere,' he told 'Entertainment Tonight' of the job he took over from longtime host Bob Barker in 2007.
Grandparents killed in wrong-way crash on Hwy. 401 identified
A 60-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman killed in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 earlier this week have been identified by the Consulate General of India in Toronto.
Golf season a summer tourism driver in Canada
Golf is a sign of spring and summer and a major driver for seasonal tourism, experts say.