A North Vancouver man has been arrested for a series of alleged gropings that happened in Central Lonsdale and Downtown Vancouver in January.
Vaughan Englot, 32, has been charged with three counts of sexual assault, the Lower Mainland RCMP revealed in a joint press conference Wednesday morning. Englot is one of six charged in a spate of assaults in Vancouver, North Vancouver, Burnaby and the University of British Columbia in the first four months of the year.
North Vancouver RCMP first warned the public on Jan. 22 after a woman came forward to report an incident that happened on Jan. 11. She had been walking up on the 1700-block of Lonsdale around 6 p.m. when a suspect grabbed her from behind, put his hands between her legs and groped her, the RCMP said at the time.
In the early morning of Jan. 19, police say a man grabbed a woman’s buttocks as she walked east on the 100-block of East 15th Street. In both cases, the subject fled soon after.
North Vancouver RCMP urged caution, in their warning, saying it’s possible the incidents were related.
The RCMP revealed Tuesday there was one other incident in Vancouver’s West End on Jan. 15 for which Englot is also now charged with sexual assault but the force did not provide any details about the allegations.
Five other men are also facing charges for a host of assaults in overlapping jurisdictions around the Lower Mainland. Making the arrests came from a highly co-ordinated investigation among local forces, said police.
“Police employed a variety of investigative techniques, many quite advanced, including crime analysis within our agencies as well as the behavioural sciences units within the RCMP to analyze years’ worth of data, offences and offenders to narrow down our search,” said Vancouver Police Department Supt. Mike Porteous.
Key to making the arrests was having the victims come forward, something the police agencies urged other potential victims to do.
“My message to women who may have been victimized and haven’t stepped forward is we would encourage you to come forward. I think it’s very important for us to get these individuals off the street,” said RCMP Chief Supt. Jodie Boudreau. “We have the support for you.”
