WATCH ABOVE: A convicted sex offender is now facing 35 new charges after police say he sexually assaulted an 18 year old disabled girl. As Catherine McDonald reports, police believe there may be more victims.
TORONTO – A homeless man from Toronto has been arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting an 18-year-old mentally disabled woman.
Police say the accused, 50-year-old Patrick Pearsall, used social media to interact with his victim and with the help of a third party, lured her to Toronto where she was sexually assaulted over a period of two months.
Pearsall has since been charged with 17 counts of sexual assault, 17 counts of sexual exploitation of a person with a disability and fail to comply with probation.
Police say that although the victim had a guardian, she was living by herself at the time of the assaults.
Detective Sergeant Kim Gross told reporters on Wednesday that two other victims have also come forward, an 18-year-old and an underage youth, and further charges are pending.
Police say the accused preyed on young females with disabilities and would use a third party, an 18-year old “acquaintance”, to lure the victims from out of town.
“There was a grooming stage of a couple months before she actually agreed to come to the city and meet Mr. Pearsall,” said Det. Sgt. Gross.
“And that was grooming through the third party. It was a friendship that developed and the grooming continued from there.”
Police say Pearsall was known to have been to numerous parts of the province including Belleville, Brighten, Barrie, Guelph, Trenton, Cornwall, Ottawa and London.
Investigators say he has also frequented the provinces of Alberta and Nova Scotia.
Gross said Pearsall targeted girls who are challenged or at risk and is asking anyone with information on the accused to come forward.
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