TORONTO – Twenty-two years after the initial assault, police have arrested a man in connection with the sexual assault of a 9-year-old girl in east Toronto.
Shane Daniel Garry, 45, was arrested on Thursday and faces several charges connected to the alleged assault including two counts of kidnapping, two counts of forcible confinement, sexual assault and sexual interference.
Police allege that on February 3, 1991 Garry approached two girls, aged 9 and 5, who were playing in the lobby of their apartment in the Warden Avenue and Danforth Road area.
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He allegedly asked them if they could help him find a restaurant and they got into his car.
Garry allegedly drove around Toronto for a short time before leaving the 5-year-old at a store on Victoria Park Avenue.
Police claim that Garry then drove to a secluded area where he sexually assaulted the 9-year-old girl.
He then left her at a restaurant on Danforth Road.
Police also released three photos of Garry taken over the last three decades as they believe there could be more victims.
The alleged crime was reported to Toronto Police at the time but police were unable to pinpoint a suspect.
Toronto Police Detective Ali Ansari said at a press conference Friday that advances in DNA testing helped lead to the identification of Garry.
“In these cold cases, there are things that we can’t act on at the time they happen,” Ansari said. “In 1991, the DNA technology was not where it is now.”
Garry appeared in a Toronto courtroom Friday.
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