Man charged after 2018 sexual assault in Vancouver was missing from halfway house
Police were looking for 35-year-old Tyler Emerson Gagnon when the offence occurred
A Vancouver man has been charged with a number of offences following a 2018 sexual assault in Vancouver's West End.
On November 17, 2018, a woman reported to Vancouver Police that an unknown man had followed her into her apartment building, attacked her and then fled, just before 3 a.m.
35-year-old Tyler Emerson Gagnon now faces charges of sexual assault with a weapon, unlawful confinement, robbery and uttering threats.
After receiving the report last November, officers were able to quickly identify Gagnon. He was arrested the following day.
However, Const. Jason Doucette with the VPD says Gagnon wasn't arrested for the assault, but for an outstanding warrant. At the time of the attack, police had already issued a news release about Gagnon because the high-risk offender was missing from his halfway house.
Doucette says because Gagnon was arrested for the outstanding warrant, it allowed investigators more than the usual 24-hour time frame they have to put suspects before a judge or release them.
"Our investigators were able to slow things down, collect the necessary information to provide Crown counsel with enough information to lay the appropriate charges," said Doucette.
Gagnon has been in custody since his arrest. He is expected to make a court appearance next week.
Doucette says tips from the public were crucial in helping them identify the man.