Saanich police have increased their presence and residents are expressing concern following a string of sexual assaults and indecent acts in the Gordon Head area.
“It’s a little scary,” said Megan Gaiga, who was walking on a Lambrick Park pathway Wednesday afternoon. “It’s bizarre.”
Staff Sgt. Chris Horsley said police patrols have increased and detectives are hoping to hear from members of the public who have seen anything suspicious since July 4, when the first two of five incidents occurred. There have been incidents each day between July 5 and 7.
Police are looking for a short man aged 20 to 30 years who is white with a darker complexion. He has been described as wearing a baseball hat, bandana or green bike helmet.
Gaiga intends to be “extra cautious” and pointed out there were a number of children, mothers and young girls using the path.
“I try to be aware of my surroundings,” said Russell Kearley, who was also in the park. “And, as a parent, I try to say: ‘Girls, just be aware of who’s around you,’ ” he added, referring to his teenage daughters.
“You just don’t ever think it’s going to happen in your neighbourhood,” said Chris Poirier-Skelton, president of the Gordon Head Residents’ Association.
The first two incidents involved a man on a skateboard. In the others, a bicycle was used. The man exposed himself and, in two cases, touched women in a sexual manner.
“In one of the incidents on the skateboard, they were actually chased and fled through the Pinewood Estates townhouses by Larchwood and Blair,” Horsley said.
“After that, they are all of a sudden showing up on a bicycle. It’s possible they were spooked because they were pursued by the victim and have actually moved into a faster mode of transportation.”
He said the five incidents happened within a small geographical area — near Larchwood Drive and Blair Avenue, Lambrick Park, Mileva Lane, near San Juan Avenue and Majestic Drive, and the Mount Douglas Park parking lot on Cedar Hill Road.
“Saanich has a lot of parks and open spaces, so, unfortunately, indecent acts are not unknown to us, “ Horsley said.
He said the incidents have happened in the late afternoon or early evening, so it is possible the man works during the day.
The incidents could be happening on his way home, Horsley said.
He added that a “a definite line in the sand” has been crossed with women being touched.
“That is a huge leap from committing an indecent act such as voyeurism or masturbating in public.”
Horsley said police have not ruled out a link between the Saanich incidents and a case Monday in Langford, where a woman was slapped on the buttocks — although the Langford suspect’s description is different.
“These acts all happened within a very short time frame.”
Saanich had another string of incidents, largely in the Shelbourne corridor and University Heights area, dating to November 2015. They included break-and-enters and cases where a man exposed himself to women, primarily at bus stops.
No link to the incidents this month has been established.
In January, a sexual assault at a Church Avenue residence near Shelbourne Street involved two international students who had a man pounding at their door. The women said they let him in because they thought the door was about to come off its hinges and the glass could break.
A man was arrested in connection with the assault in April.
