Update (February 11, 2015): A previous version of this article referenced another sexual assault case that was withdrawn in November 2012 and did not go to trial.
University of Toronto Community Campus Police arrested a man last Monday in connection with a series of alleged sexual assaults in Robarts library.
According to the official police report. Toronto resident George Williams, 50, stands accused of three counts of sexual assault that took place at Robarts between January 25, 2011 and his arrest on September 17.
Williams’ arrest concludes the latest in a series of rattling assaults reported in downtown Toronto this year.
Last week, the annual “Take Back the Night” rally was held in response to 10 reported sexual assault cases that have taken place in the Annex and Kensington Market. Ryerson University has reported four sexual assault cases during the first three weeks of this school year.
While the individual incidents within each area are believed to be linked, police do not believe that the Ryerson cases and the Annex cases are related.
The Robarts case is the third sexual assault case to take place involving the University of Toronto this last year. This past summer, Muhammad Umair Jafar, 21, a third-year student, was alleged to have sexually assaulted a 19 year-old first-year female student in an Emmanuel College basement washroom in an elaborate plot.
The victims knew their alleged attackers in all three cases, as do up to 85 per cent of sexual assault victims, according to U of T’s Ask First Campaign.
George Williams’ arrest is also the second high-profile criminal incident that has taken place at Robarts this year, after an incident in March involving a 23 year-old man claiming to have a gun and threatening to kill several students.
These recent incidents have raised concerns about safety on college campuses. In an interview with The Newspaper, manager of U of T’s campus police services Sam D’Angelo said his officers will continue to “do what we normally do” in response to the recent incidents.
Williams was scheduled to arrive in an Old City Hall courtroom last Tuesday. He was charged on three counts of sexual assault. Police believe that Williams has targeted other victims.
