Teen arrested in downtown groping incidents after being spotted by patrol officer, Winnipeg police say
15-year-old arrested on 2 counts of sexual assault
Police arecrediting an observant officer with spottingthe teenage maleaccused ofgroping two peoplein downtown Winnipeg.
On Tuesday around 4:40 p.m., an officer patrolling a downtown skywalksaw a teenager who matched thedescription of a suspect in the sexual assaults, police said in a media release Wednesday.
The 15-year-old malewas taken into custody near Portage Avenue andVaughan Street.
Police said the first assault happened Friday at about 7:50 a.m. A woman in her30s was walking through theskywalkbetween BellMTSPlace andCityplaceShopping Centre, when a man came up to her and grabbed her, police said.
A second woman in her late teens was attacked Saturday at about 9:15 a.m. while she was heading through the walkway between the downtown YMCA and Portage Place Shopping Centre. A man approached her from behind and grabbed her.
Winnipeg police issued a second public warning about thegropingson Tuesday, after learning of a thirdincident where a male"actedsuspiciously" around a womanin her late teens at around 6:45 a.m. on Saturday at Portage Place Shopping Centre.
Though descriptions of the male's appearance differed, police said last weekend theybelieved the events are related.
The 15-year-oldwas arrested ontwo counts of sexual assault. He was released from custody on a promise to appear.