A female student was violently assaulted near the St. George campus around 4 a.m. last Friday.
The 25-year-old was going home after work, walking in a well-lit area on Beverly Street, close to Cecil Street. A man attacked her and dragged her to an alley, where he sexually assaulted her.
The attack lasted 10 minutes and the suspect fled on foot before police arrived. The victim has been released from hospital.
“This was the kind of individual who didn’t just quickly attack her. He took his time. He was very methodical,” Det. Const. Brad Stapleton, of the Toronto Police Service’s sex crimes unit, told CTV. “Based on the viciousness of the attack, we think this person is very capable of doing it again.”
The suspect is described as white, aged 25 to 30, 5’7’’ to 6’0” with a medium build.
On Saturday, U of T’s Campus Community Police posted a community alert on its website and hand-delivered the alert to university residences and libraries. At press time, the alert was a word document file that could be downloaded, but the title did not mention sexual assault and users had to scroll down to see the link.
Campus police added a third Walk Safer team, made up of one female and one male student. Walk Safer operates 7 p.m. to midnight on weekdays from September to April, excluding holiday breaks. University spokesman Rob Steiner said campus police would make the service available at any time, and that students who want an escort outside of normal hours can call the main line at 416-978-2222.
Students can call 416-978-SAFE (7233) to be picked up from their location and escorted to any location on campus and surrounding TTC stations. Callers can also arrange for regular walks and pick-ups ahead of time.
Steiner said campus police also attempted to notify heads of student government, including the University of Toronto Students’ Union. UTSU president Sandy Hudson told The Varsity Sunday afternoon that she hadn’t gotten any phone or email messages about the matter. “I knew because my mom called,” she said. Later Sunday evening, Hudson received a fax of the alert.
Hudson said UTSU will be sending out messages through Facebook and on their website. “Currently we don’t have the ability to email all of our members, except at a specific time every month,” she said. She added that UTSU will soon have the capability to send out mass emails to all its members. “We have been advised […] it will be occurring sometime in the next two weeks,” Hudson said.
This February, U of T bought a text-messaging security system from Richmond Hill-based Aizan Technologies. The system would cost $30,000 per use. U of T will test it next week on landlines, Steiner said. “Once it passes that test, and we know the system works, we’ll then open up the registry for people putting in their cell phones.” He added he’s not sure if a text message would have been sent out for this case, and that security experts would be consulted on when to use the system.
Anyone with information is asked to call 416－808－7474, contact Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416－222－TIPS (8477). People can also go online at www.222tips.com or text TOR and the message to CRIMES (274637).
