Child lured, sexually assaulted near south Vancouver playground, police say

A six-year-old child was allegedly lured from a playground at Sexsmith Elementary School in South Vancouver on Dec. 5 and sexually assaulted by a stranger, Vancouver police say.

Police say the girl was taken to a nearby location where she was assaulted before the man walked her back to school.

The suspect is described as a darker-skinned man, approximately 30 years old, with brown or grey hair. He was wearing grey pants.

“Public safety, especially a child’s wellbeing, is the VPD’s number one priority,” said Const. Jason Doucette of the Vancouver Police Department in a release. “Our detectives have now had an opportunity to speak with the victim and follow up on leads and are using the information to ask for the public’s help. We want to hear from anyone who could have seen something or may have dash-cam footage.”

Detectives from the VPD Sex Crimes Unit are looking for dash cam footage from anyone who may have been driving in the area between 8:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. on Dec. 5. They are specifically looking for footage from anyone driving in the area of West 58 Avenue along the north side, West 60 Avenue along the south side, Ontario Street going east and Cambie Street going west.

Anyone who may have been in the area on last Wednesday afternoon and saw anything suspicious is asked to call detectives in VPD’s Sex Crimes Unit at 604-717-0603 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.