'You don't expect that to come out here': Residents concerned over reported sexual assaults in Brighton neighbourhood
On Wednesday, November 16, Carly Tonkin says she was walking home with her dog through a park in the Brighton neighbourhood when she was approached.
“He asked me if I needed to have service and I thought, because he was a young kid, I thought he was going to need some money for shovelling a driveway or to buy a coat because he was only wearing a sweater, running shoes and sweatpants,” she said.
Instead, Tonkin says he asked her sexually explicit questions until she walked the opposite way.
“I didn't think much of it at the time until my friend told me that evening that she was actually assaulted and touched,” she said.
Saskatoon Police say it’s investigating following separate reports of women being sexually assaulted by a stranger in the area of Dagnone Crescent in recent days.
“The encounters were brief and, fortunately, the victims were able to escape the assault by their own actions,” police said in a statement to CTV News.
“In the interest of public safety but with respect to the victims' privacy, we can offer that the sexual assaults involved a combination of physical, verbal, and exposure-related advancements towards the victim.”
Tonkin says she and her family moved to Brighton from Toronto in July because it looked like a good neighbourhood to raise a family.
“It's a quiet, family-friendly neighbourhood. You don't expect that to come out here,” she said.
Executive director of the Saskatoon Sexual Assault and Information Centre Reagan Conway says it’s a reminder that sexual violence can happen anywhere at any time.
“I think for most people there is a belief that you're safe in your own home, you're safe in your own community, but we know that assaults can happen anywhere,” she said.
Conway says sexual assault is an all-encompassing term, including sexual abuse and sexual harassment. She says it doesn’t have to involve sexual violence and can include emotional and psychological harm.
“As a society, we have to do a little bit better so that we're not telling victims or survivors that they have to protect themselves, but that we need to figure out why these violent crimes are happening in the first place and stop them beforehand,” she said.
“[So] Stopping it before it occurs, offering education. Having a good understanding about what sexualized violence is, supporting it when it happens, and support of survivors of sexualized violence that then might perpetuate themselves.”
Saskatoon Police say the suspect is described as being between 15 and 25 years old, 5’9” to 6’0” in height and approximately 180 pounds with a slim build.
In two separate instances, he was seen wearing a neon purple shirt and neon yellow jacket, before later being seen by the same victim wearing all black with a hood pulled tightly around his face.
SPS says members of the public are asked to remain watchful of people around them, to look out for one another, and contact them or Crime Stoppers with relevant information.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Ontario Provincial Police arrest 64 suspects in child sexual exploitation investigation
Ontario Provincial Police say 64 suspects are facing a combined 348 charges in connection with a series of child sexual exploitation investigations that spanned the province.
AstraZeneca says it will withdraw COVID-19 vaccine globally as demand dips
AstraZeneca said on Tuesday it had initiated the worldwide withdrawal of its COVID-19 vaccine due to a 'surplus of available updated vaccines' since the pandemic.
Toronto police seek suspect vehicle after security guard shot outside Drake's mansion
Toronto police are seeking help from the public as they continue to investigate a shooting that seriously injured a security guard outside rapper Drake's mansion.
World's record-breaking hot temperature streak stretches through April
The world just experienced its hottest April on record, extending an 11-month streak in which every month set a temperature record, the European Union's climate change monitoring service said on Wednesday.
Most of Canada to receive emergency alert test today
The federal government will test its capacity to issue emergency alerts today, with the exception of Ontario, where the test will take place on May 15.
OPINION What King Charles' schedule being too 'full' to accommodate son suggests
Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, has made headlines with his recent arrival in the U.K., this time to celebrate all things Invictus. But upon the prince landing in the U.K., we have already had confirmation that King Charles III won't have time to see his youngest son during his brief visit.
Seafood, eat food: Calgary Stampede releases Midway menu
The Calgary Stampede has released its menu of sweet, salty and spicy treats available on the Midway for the Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth.
Boy Scouts of America is rebranding. Here's why they've changed their name
After more than a century, Boy Scouts of America is rebranding as Scouting America, another major shakeup for an organization that once proudly resisted change.
Ontario man devastated to learn $150,000 line of credit isn't insured after wife dies
An Ontario man found out that a line of credit he thought was insured actually isn't after his wife of 50 years died.