Woman fights off violent sexual assault near Burnaby SkyTrain station

Burnaby RCMP are asking for the public’s help in tracking down a suspect in a recent sexual assault that occurred near a SkyTrain station.

Police say they responded to a report of an assault around 11:30 p.m. on Thursday, July 9, near Royal Oak Avenue and Beresford Street. The intersection is right by the Royal Oak station.

The victim, who was walking alone, had her buttocks grabbed from behind by the assailant.

“An altercation ensued,” said Burnaby RCMP in a release. “The victim resisted and screamed, which caused the suspect to stop.

“As the victim called 911, the suspect fled the scene. Extensive patrols for the suspect were met with negative results.”

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The detachment added that the assault victim did not sustain any physical injuries, and that its investigators are following up on leads based on info shared by her.

“We’d like to commend the victim for her courage and for calling police immediately,” added Cpl. Mike Kalanj with the Burnaby RCMP.

Later the same evening, just before midnight, police received a report of a suspicious man who had come towards a sliding glass door of a ground-floor apartment in the 7300 block of MacPherson Avenue, near Beresford Street.

According to the RCMP, the suspect fled when the resident in the suite banged on the window.

The suspicious man was also seen in the same yard around 11 p.m. earlier on July 9, though the resident did not report the first sighting.

“We cannot currently say for certain if the two incidents are related; however, we are asking anyone who saw the suspicious man in the second incident or witnessed the first incident to please come forward and speak to our investigators,” Cpl. Kalanj added.

“Our officers continue to canvas the area for video, so if you have captured an image or video from your doorbell camera or dashcam video, we would like to hear from you.”

Anyone with information that could help identify the suspect in either incident, or anyone with dashcam video in the area where they occurred between 10:30 p.m., Thursday, July 9, and 1:00 a.m., Friday, July 10, is asked to call Burnaby RCMP at 604-646-9999 and quote file number 2026-23973.

Burnaby RCMP have also launched an investigation into an “extremely concerning” series of indecent acts that took place in a popular Burnaby park.

The Burnaby RCMP made the announcement after three separate reports of indecent acts in Central Park earlier this month.

Each reported incident involved a male suspect who “engaged in an indecent act” in different areas of the park on July 5, 6, and 9.

“The reported acts took place at different times of day, and ranged from the suspect exposing himself to masturbating in public,” said Burnaby RCMP in a release.

Investigators are working to identify a suspect or suspects as well as ascertain if any of the incidents are connected.