EDMONTON – Edmonton police are hoping the public can help them identify a man suspected of breaking into a home this past weekend and sexually assaulting a woman.
The alleged incident happened around 9:30 Saturday morning at a townhouse in the Abbottsfield neighbourhood. Witnesses heard the sound of breaking glass, and reportedly saw a man climbing through a ground floor window, then heard a woman screaming.
Police say a 22-year-old woman who was alone at the time was allegedly physically and sexually assaulted by the stranger, who appeared intoxicated.
Despite searching the area with help from the canine unit, officers were unable to find the suspect. But they believe that someone in the community either saw or knows him and will hopefully recognize him from the composite sketch police have released.
“This violent crime took place in a typical neighbourhood on a Saturday morning, and we believe that someone saw this man coming or going through the area,” says Staff Sgt. Shawna Goodkey with the EPS Sexual Assault Section. “We need witnesses to come forward and speak to police. We want to be able to solve this crime, and help to bring closure to a woman who has been senselessly assaulted and traumatized.”
The suspect is described as a Caucasian male, in his late 20s or early 30s, with an average build and clean-shave face. He is approximately 5’8″ tall, and was wearing a white or light coloured t-shirt, blue jeans, a black baseball cap, and large black-rimmed sunglasses. He may have had blood on his clothing.
The suspect is believed to be prone to violent behaviour, and police say he should not be approached.
“We have a lot of things that we’re still following up on; and we’re waiting on lab results, of course, so we’re very, very hopeful that we’re going to catch this guy and be able to lay charges,” says Goodkey. “We also hope there’s somebody out there that may have information that will help us further this a lot quicker.”
“We take this extremely seriously,” she adds. “I think the public takes that very seriously. It’s frightening when these things happen and we’re lucky that we don’t get a lot of them in Edmonton. But when they do happen we want to find somebody who would be willing to do this to a stranger. We want to find them quickly, and get them away and maybe put in jail as need be.”
Anyone with information that can help to identify and locate him is asked to contact the Edmonton Police Service at 780-423-4567 or #377 from a mobile phone. Anonymous information can be submitted to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or online.
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