CALGARY – The mother of a 19-year-old girl who was attacked around while waiting to catch a bus in Calgary’s northwest Tuesday night, is trying to warn other women about what she says is a serious safety concern.
She says her daughter, who did not wish to be identified, was on her way home from longboarding with friends and had taken the number three bus to Calgary Transit’s Sandstone bus loop. She was waiting there around 10:45 p.m. to catch another bus, when she says she was sexually assaulted by a man waiting there as well.
The young woman called her mom shortly after the violent encounter.
“He seemed to be just a normal guy having a cigarette and she was just sitting there listening to her ipad,” her mother told Global News. “He told her that she was really pretty and that he wanted her to do some sexual favours for him – and if she didn’t – he would hit her.”
The victim alleges that after groping her, the man threw her to the ground and began repeatedly punching her.
The victim told her mother she knew the next bus wouldn’t come for another 20 minutes. She told her mother that when it did arrive, on schedule, the man ran off.
“When I come near, I see he starts running and when I come close to the bus shelter, then I see a girl who is on the ground,” Amandeep Hunjan, the driver of that bus, described. “The girl is coming towards me crying… she told me the guy punch her on the nose.”
READ MORE: Calgary bus driver scares off attacker after attempted sex assault in Sandstone Valley
Hunjan called 911 and waited with the young woman until emergency crews arrived. Police suggested if Hunjan hadn’t arrived, the attack could have been much worse.
“If I was not there, the guy was planning to rape her,” Hunjan said. “That’s the thing – luckily he saw me and start running.”
The victim was taken to hospital in stable condition.
The suspect is described as about 18 to 20 years old and roughly 5’10” with a medium build. He was wearing a black baseball cap, a grey hooded sweatshirt and blue jeans. Police are reviewing surveillance video from Hunjan’s bus but have so far been unable to track down any suspects.
The victim’s mother now fears, not only for her daughter, but for the safety of other women in the area.
“This guy is not just sexually assaulting women, he is battering them.”
“It’s a very serious offence with a certain level of violence so it’s obviously something we’re very concerned about,” Staff Sgt. Sean Chartrand with the Calgary Police Service said.
The mother is hoping the city will consider installing additional lighting, surveillance video or possibly a help phone to make the bus loop area safer.
The victim suffered facial trauma with possible broken cheek and jaw bones.
She is now working with police – hoping to prevent other women from becoming the next target.
With files from Global’s Jill Croteau