Teen arrested in downtown groping incidents after being spotted by patrol officer, Winnipeg police say
Police are crediting an observant officer with spotting the teenage male accused of groping two people in downtown Winnipeg.
On Tuesday around 4:40 p.m., an officer patrolling a downtown skywalk saw a teenager who matched the description of a suspect in the sexual assaults, police said in a media release Wednesday.
The 15-year-old male was taken into custody near Portage Avenue and Vaughan Street.
Police said the first assault happened Friday at about 7:50 a.m. A woman in her 30s was walking through the skywalk between Bell MTS Place and Cityplace Shopping Centre, when a man came up to her and grabbed her, police said.
A second woman in her late teens was attacked Saturday at about 9:15 a.m. while she was heading through the walkway between the downtown YMCA and Portage Place Shopping Centre. A man approached her from behind and grabbed her.
Winnipeg police issued a second public warning about the gropings on Tuesday, after learning of a third incident where a male "acted suspiciously" around a woman in her late teens at around 6:45 a.m. on Saturday at Portage Place Shopping Centre.
Though descriptions of the male's appearance differed, police said last weekend they believed the events are related.
The 15-year-old was arrested on two counts of sexual assault. He was released from custody on a promise to appear.
