Police confirm 2 more sex assaults in St. John's
Police have confirmed another two sexual assaults that occurred on the streets of St. John's in the last two weeks, not connected to cases involving the date-rape drug.
According to the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary, one of the assaults took place about two weeks ago when a teenager was picked up on Lemarchant Road and sexually assaulted.
Police cannot confirm if the young girl knew her attacker. RNC Const. Steve Curnew said the case is under investigation.
The second sexual assault occurred about one week ago near The Rooms. Curnew said police have made an arrest in connection with the crime and the alleged attacker is before the courts.
Curnew said because of the seriousness of the crimes, the police won't comment on the extent of the assaults.
He's also encouraging women to stay with friends when going out, to carry a cellphone and let others know where they're going.
Appalled and surprised
Speaking on CBC's Radio Noon, NDP MHA Gerry Rogers told host Ramona Dearing she is appalled and surprised to hear about the sexual assaults.
"Just in a period of a few weeks about the number of stranger rapes that I have heard about in St. John's, some of which have been reported to the police, some of which the young women decided not to report them to the police" said Rogers.
She said one of the women raped in the centre of the city was a teenager.
"It was early in the morning. It was stranger-rape."
Rogers said she knows about the crime because she met with the family of one of the young women who was raped.
She said she heard about another young woman on Signal Hill Road being assaulted, but police said Friday no incident of sexual assault has been reported there.
Police told CBC News Friday the recent drug-rape cases in St. John's are not connected to the two other sexual assaults that police have confirmed.
Leslie Macleod, with the St. John's Status of Women Council, said it is important to recognize that most cases of rape are not reported. She said if it's not reported, police cannot put out a warning.