Teen boys sexually assaulted in YMCA-YWCA change room, man charged

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This article was published 09/12/2024 (328 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A man is facing sexual assault and other charges after an incident in the men’s change room at a YMCA-YWCA on Friday night.

Police did not identify the “multi-use fitness facility,” but the Free Press has learned it was the YMCA-YWCA’s Elmwood-Kildonan branch on Kimberly Avenue.

Police were sent to the building at about 10 p.m. and arrested a man who was still there. The two victims, both males in their teens, were not hurt, the Winnipeg Police Service said in a news release Monday morning.

Investigators learned the suspect approached the victims in a common area of the change room, exposed himself and “sexually assaulted both teens,” the news release said.

The victims confronted the suspect and told staff, who contacted police.

Paul Tactac Unciano, 47, of Winnipeg is charged with two counts of sexual assault and single counts of sexual interference and committing an indecent act.

“The suspect and the victims were previously unknown to one another,” the WPS said.

Unciano was released on a court order prohibiting contact with people under age 18, the release said.

The WPS is investigating. Police asked anyone who wants to speak to an investigator to contact the sex crimes unit at 204-986-6245, or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 204-786-8377 (TIPS) or online.

“The safety of our members is always our No. 1 priority, especially our youth members, who count on the Y as a safe and welcoming space,” YMCA-YWCA of Winnipeg said in an emailed statement.

“We will, of course, offer whatever support we can to assist Winnipeg police in their investigation and to support the families involved. The individual accused in this incident has been banned from all YWinnipeg facilities.”

In an unrelated case, a former Winnipeg teacher and educational support worker was charged in October in connection with alleged offences at Seven Oaks Pool. Police searching the man’s phone discovered hundreds of videos and photos, some of which featured adults and children in “various stages of undress” in the pool’s family change room. The alleged offences at the pool are believed to have happened in April 2023 and May 2024.

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