Man charged in relation to series of sex assaults in 2009-10, Vancouver police say

Police in Vancouver say a man has been charged in relation to four sexual assaults against young women in the city's downtown core between Canada Day 2009 and Christmas Eve 2010.

Arturo Garcia Gorjon, 45, was recently arrested in Regina following new evidence investigators received nearly 14 years after the first crime was committed,the Vancouver Police Department (VPD) said.He has been charged with four counts of sexual assault.

"They're the kinds of cases that give us the drive to never give up," said Deputy Chief Const.Fiona Wilson at a news conference at VPD headquarters Wednesday.

Wilson saidGorjon lives inVancouver but travelsfor work, and was identified as a suspect only in the past sixto 12 months.

He has been before a judge and was released with conditions, Wilson said, adding thata "safety plan'' is in place to monitor his behaviour to make sure he abides by those conditions.

She said Gorjon was not known to police and did not have a criminal record.

"I know none of this will change what happened to these women and I suspect nothing will permanently erase the trauma they've lived with," said Wilson.

"However, I do hope this arrest and these charges begin to provide the answers and accountability that has been missing for so many years."

WATCH | VPD Deputy Chief Constableacknowledges the trauma victims have suffered:

Vancouver police thank sex-assault victims for coming forward

1 year ago

Duration 0:59

VPD Deputy Chief Const. Fiona Wilson says she recognizes the trauma that victims of the 2009 and 2010 sexual assaults have since lived with and hopes the arrest of a suspect and charges will provide accountability.

The investigation began in the early hours of Canada Day in 2009, after a 20-year-old woman was attacked and sexually assaulted by a stranger while walking near Granville Island, said police.

A second attack occurred on Nov. 15 that year, when a 25-year-old woman was sexually assaulted while entering an apartment building in the West End. Seven months later, a third woman was attacked in Yaletown.

In all three cases the suspect fled before police arrived.

'Targeting young women'

In 2011, Vancouver police launched Project Scrimmagewith the aim of finding new evidence that could lead to a break in the three cases.

Investigators said it was "clear someone was targeting young women in the city," but lacked proof in the three cases, and had not identified the attacker.

A break finally came this January, Wilson said, when VPD obtained evidence linking the three unsolved assaults to a fourth attack that occurred in the downtown core on Christmas Eve in 2010.

Wilson did not say what thatevidence was.

VPD investigators travelled to Saskatchewan on July 21, arrested Gorjon and brought him back to Vancouver to face charges.

Wilson said, at this time, Gorjonhas not beenlinked to any other outstanding sexual assault cases in Vancouver or in other jurisdictions.

'All the power to the women'

Advocates for victims of sexual violence, like Hilla Kernerwiththe Vancouver Rape Relief and Women's Shelter, say they're thankful for the women who came forward to share their stories and participate in the judicial system, which does not have a high rate of guilty verdicts in sexual assault cases.

"All the power to the women who came forward and made complaints to the police," she said.

Statistics Canada says, across the country, less than half ofall sexual assault case decisions in adult criminal court resulted in a finding of guilt.

"The fact that police conducted thorough investigations that resulted in arrest and charges is rare in all situations," said Kerner. "We need to see a more diligent response from police and from the judicial system as a whole."

She said sexual assaults, like these four, which took place at random in public spaces, have a chilling effect on women's safety.

"They discourage women from using public space, so holding those men accountable, charging them, it's very, very importantbecause women should be able to walk free and safe."