Attempted child abduction in Thorncliffe Park possibly linked to sexual assault of girl, 8

TORONTO — Police are asking the public for assistance in locating a middle aged male suspect after a nine-year-old boy was repeatedly targeted in an attempted abduction in Toronto’s Thorncliffe neighbourhood.

Investigators have confirmed they are looking into whether the suspect is also wanted in connection with the sexual assault of an eight-year-old girl in the same area.

Police said the boy was walking alone to school in the Thorncliffe Park Drive and Overlea Boulevard area just before 9 a.m. on Tuesday, when an unknown man approached him and grabbed his shoulder.

The boy was able to break the man’s grasp and run to school, but as he was leaving for lunch he saw the same man who police said approached him again, which is when the boy ran inside the school and informed a teacher.

READ MORE: Police release photo of suspect after girl, 8, sexually assaulted in Thorncliffe Park

Police described the suspect as a brown man, aged early 40s to early 50s, standing 6’0″ with short light brown hair, short facial hair near the chin that is light-grey and a moustache. He was wearing a white shirt, dark zip-up jacket, black pants with word ‘ADIDAS’ written near the pocket, Nike shoes with orange on them, and a black hat with an orange circular symbol.

A similar description of a suspect was released by police on Oct. 9 after an eight-year-old girl was sexually assaulted in the Thorncliffe Park area, when an unknown man approached her from behind and sexually assaulted her at about 11:15 a.m.

That suspect then fled the location in an unknown direction and is described by police as a brown man aged 50 to 60 years old with a moustache. He was wearing a black hat, black button jacket or blazer and blue jeans.

A surveillance photo of the suspect has been released and police are asking anyone with information to come forward.

Const. Victor Kwong said investigators are looking into the similarities between the two suspects to determine if they are in fact the same person, but added that it was too early in the investigation to confirm.

A sexual assault is any form of unwanted sexual contact. It includes, but is not limited to, kissing, grabbing, oral sex and penetration. To learn more about sexual assault, including how to report a sexual assault, please visit the Toronto Police Service Sex Crimes website.

Anyone with information is asked to contact police at 416-808-5300, Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-TIPS (8477), online at http://www.222tips.com, or text TOR and your message to CRIMES (274637).