Pre-teen lured to downtown stairwell, sexually assaulted

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This article was published 23/03/2022 (1303 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Winnipeg police are searching for a man after a 12-year-old girl was lured from a bus shack to a downtown stairwell and sexually assaulted.

The victim was at a bus shelter at the corner of Portage Avenue and Main Street at about 3:30 p.m. Monday, when the suspect struck up a conversation and convinced her to walk with him, police said.

He took her to a stairwell at a building off Lombard Avenue and Rorie Street then assaulted her, police said.

After the assault, the pre-teen fled and reported it to police.

The suspect is described as Indigenous, with shaggy hair and dirty, unkempt clothing. He wore a black jacket and backpack and has a scar above his eyebrow.

Lindsay Lobb, senior support services manager for the Canadian Centre for Child Protection, said such crimes are “incredibly distressing.”

“It’s certainly strikes some fear into the community when these situations happen,” she said.

Lobb said parents can help protect their children by teaching them to use the buddy system.

“Say you’re walking to school, you don’t just walk by yourself, you’re going to the park, always bring a buddy along,” Lobb said.

She also advised parents to talk to their kids about what they should do if approached by a stranger.

“You might talk to them about strategies they might use if somebody did approach them, asking them what would you do and how would you react? Then providing the child with examples so they could practice those scenarios.”

Parents can find more safety resources at protectchildren.ca.

Anyone with information about the attack is asked to call investigators at 204-986-3296 or Crime Stoppers at 204-786-8477.

erik.pindera@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @erik_pindera