Winnipeg police caution the public after series of attacks on women, including 15-year-old

Winnipeg police are investigating at least five incidents where women and girls were accosted at various points along the Red River trail system, including one where a teenage girl was sexually assaulted.

On Sunday at about 3:45 a.m., the girl was walking on the river trail behind Churchill High School in the Riverview neighbourhood when she was grabbed by a man she didn't know and sexually assaulted.

The girl managed to free herself and ran to get help.

Later that same day at about 6 p.m., a woman in her 20s was running on the river trail near Harkness Avenue in the Osborne Village area when a man she didn't know came up from the river bank, grabbed her from behind and pulled her to the ground. 

She screamed and was able to escape.

Advisory issued

Earlier this summer, Winnipeg police issued a public advisory regarding another similar assault against a woman at Cockburn Street and Churchill Drive on June 12 at 6 p.m.

The woman was approached by an unknown man who tried to pull her down. The woman was able to resist her attacker, at which time he ran away.

At the time, police described the man as between 35-40 years of age, about five foot eleven with an average build. He has black buzzed hair, and was wearing a grey t-shirt, black cargo pants, a black mask and black sunglasses.

Detectives are investigating a number of incidents between April and August of this year involving women and girls between 15 year old to their late 30s being accosted at various points along the Red River trail system.

The people were all grabbed from behind, pulled to the ground and threatened with a weapon.

'It is messy': Carver

Const. Rob Carver says the victims are giving different descriptors of a suspect, so it's difficult to put out a clear description after the most recent assault..

"It's presented messily because it is messy," he said.

At this time there are at least five attacks that appear to be connected, but there may be more, he says.

"There may be others that don't present in a strong enough case that they could be connected," Carver said.

The attacks varied from the early evening hours when it was still light out into the early morning hours when it was dark outside. All the incidents occurred along the west side of the Red River trail from the Osborne Bridge, south along Churchill Drive, to the Elm Park footbridge at Jubilee Avenue.

Carver says investigators aren't able to definitively link all the incidents, but the Sex Crimes Unit is "certainly pursuing that avenue of investigative reasoning."

Police are warning the public to take steps to keep themselves safe.

Police are asking anyone with information that could help investigators to call the Sex Crimes Unit at 204-986-6245 or Crime Stoppers at 204-786-TIPS (8477).

Plan city with safety in mind

There are a number of ways to work toward ensuring people who are at risk are safe, says Hazel Borys, an engineer and urbanist who serves as president of PlaceMakers, a planning and design firm.

One way to do that is building safe infrastructure for pedestrians and cyclists.

"Sometimes people end up running or walking on the river walk, partly because it's a beautiful place, but also partly because it's a more pedestrian friendly, more cyclist friendly space," Borys said.

"How do we make at least a network of streets in Winnipeg safer and friendlier and more inviting to pedestrians and cyclists as well, so that we just have those additional options for how to move through the city?"

That can look as simple as cycling paths, wider lanes on roads, good connectivity and direct routes, she said.

It's also a matter of crime prevention by addressing environmental issues, especially given the incidents where the woman and the teenager were attacked by a person who came up from a place they couldn't see.

"Not having places where people can hide and easily get to you is an important part of crime prevention through environmental design. Things like adequate lighting of streets and public spaces is also super important," Borys said.

In the winter, Winnipeg does a good job of making the river area a place where many people visit to do a number of different things, like skating, walking, snowshoeing and skiing, but that could be increased in the summer.

"If there was a pop-up coffee shop here or a pop-up bike repair kiosk there along the river trail, there would just be more things and more people programming the space," Borys said.

"That is creating a mixture of uses so that there's safety in numbers and the local characters who are there frequently create a safety net for all of us."