A man who “violently attacked” a female SkyTrain attendant at a New Westminster, B.C., station three years ago has been sentenced to 10 years in prison.
In a media release, Metro Vancouver Transit Police said Howard Geddes Skelding was convicted of assault causing bodily harm and forcible confinement and sentenced earlier this month.
According to police, Geddes Skelding was arrested at the Braid SkyTrain Station on July 5, 2021. Police said he assaulted the train attendant as she was leaving a room in the station, shoving her back into the room where he punched her in the stomach and head and knocked her to the ground.
The attendant was able to fight him off and call for help.
Geddes Skelding is a convicted sex offender, who has been the subject of several police warnings.
In August 2020, Surrey RCMP warned the public he would be living in the city and said he was at high risk of attacking women, who he has been known to approach with his genitals exposed before sexually assaulting them.