Man accused of sexually assaulting 2 seniors may have attacked others: Saskatoon police
Dan Zakreski | CBC News | Posted: July 30, 2019 7:12 PM | Last Updated: July 30, 2019
Suspect, 72, has sexual assault conviction from August, 2017
A suspect accused of sexually assaulting two seniors at a care home in Saskatoon may have committed similar attacks at other homes, police say.
A man, 72, appeared in provincial court Monday charged with two counts of sexual assault. It's alleged he confined two women, aged 78 and 86, in a washroom at Stonebridge Crossing on March 13 and then exposed himself.
CBC News has learned the suspect already has a sexual assault conviction from August, 2017 and that he was on probation at the time of the latest allegation.
Saskatoon police began hearing rumblings of other similar assaults once they began reaching out to care homes across the city in May.
"We have a general concern about suspicious activity and we may find that we have other information coming forward," said police spokeswoman Alyson Edwards.
Suspicious activity
She said the suspicious activity concerns someone of a similar age, description and method of operation.
"We will continue to investigate any information that comes forward," Edwards said.
The general manager at Stonebridge Crossing says it appears the suspect simply walked through the front doors of the facility and past the front desk during a busy time.
Visitors buzz themselves in through the front doors but are expected to report, said Claude Marcotte.
"In this case here the male visitor proceeded not to register at reception when the receptionist was busy directing some information to another resident," he said.
A staffer learned of the assault while doing a welfare check on residents, he said.
"They're just checking to make sure residents are comfortable in their suite and that's when they just stumbled upon the situation," he said.
Marcotte says that staff are more vigilant now.