Vancouver police believe sexual predator has targeted kids for 15 years

METRO VANCOUVER -- A child rapist who has been targeting girls for at least 15 years may be responsible for eight different sexual assaults across Metro Vancouver, police said Monday.

The man has already been linked by DNA to three assaults — one in Vancouver in 1995, in Delta in 2007 and in Surrey last year in which a six-year-old girl was attacked.

But now investigators think the same man may be responsible for at least five other Vancouver assaults on young teenage girls dating back to the late 1980s and early 1990s.

They also believe the suspect may feel remorse for his knifepoint rapes and may respond to their pleas for him to turn himself in.

"For years you have been dealing with fantasies around young children," criminal psychologist Matt Logan said in a video to the rapist released Monday.

Logan said the suspect has indicated he feels badly about his actions.

"You don't want to hurt them. You have been told some of your victims you don't want to hurt them," Logan, a former RCMP Staff Sergeant, said in the video.

"Make this call please."

A counsellor who specializes in deviant fantasies will be answering the hotline set up for the suspect — 604-779-7581.

Logan told reporters Monday that the tactic has worked before — several years ago, another sexual predator turned himself in after a similar public appeal.

He said he thinks the suspect in the eight assaults may have many more victims who never called police.

"I believe there are cases that have gone unreported for years that this person is involved in. Yes, there is a good chance that this person will strike again. But we are hoping he will see our view of this and seek the help that we are providing," Logan said.

Vancouver Police Insp. Bob Usui, of the Special Investigation Section, said 12 officers from his department, Delta Police and Surrey RCMP have been working on the probe, dubbed Project Scourge.

And he said parents need to warn their children about the man's methods.

"He approaches children as young as six years old on foot and asks for information, directions or seeks assistance in some way. When he gets close to the victims, he grabs the most vulnerable in the group, then brandishes a knife to garner cooperation from the other children. He walks them a short distance to a secluded area," Usui said.

"He is calm as he removes their clothing and sexually assaults them. He offers reassurance, but threatens to stab them if they do not cooperate. After he assaults the victim, he sometimes expresses remorse. He tells the children to count while he makes his escape on foot."

Usui said the witness descriptions have varied in each of the cases, but generally the suspect is described as white, possibly mixed with some other unknown ethnicity.

"He has Asian- or almond-shaped eyes and wore his hair in a ponytail in 2007, but not in 2009," Usui said. "He is 5'8" to 6'0" tall with a medium build but heavier around the waist.

In last year's attack, the man was wearing a distinctive button-up shirt with Chinese dragons on it, Usui said.

Police have circulated a flyer in the neighbourhoods surrounding the three attacks linked by DNA. It urges people to call the project's tip line at 778-331-4100.

"This offender is someone's son, brother, uncle of neighbour," the flyer says. "You could protect other children."

Usui said investigators are not yet providing details from the earlier five attacks, except to say they are all Vancouver cases involving young teens.

But more detail about the three linked cases was provided.

The oldest dates back to April 1, 1995 when a 13-year-old girl was sexually assaulted on the grounds of Lord Nelson school in Vancouver after the man asked for help finding his child.

The girl was pulled into a stairwell and attacked her before fleeing on foot.

On August 30, 2007 two 14-year-old Delta girls were walking east on 84th Avenue in the 10700-block when the suspect approached them for directions.

He grabbed one girl's arm and pulled a knife before forcing the girls into the woods where they were sexually assaulted.

Then he struck his youngest known victim in Surrey has July 3 after approaching her while she walked with her brother and a friend east on 62 Avenue in the 13900-block.

He asked for directions, then grabbed the little girl and flashed a knife, taking her into the woods as he threatened to stab her if the boys did not cooperate.

After the attack, the man fled on foot and the children reported the incident to their parents who called police the next day.

"The victims and their family have recently moved away from the area due to the emotional trauma of this incident," police said Monday "The DNA profiles in all of these cases are identical. This is a serial situation. This suspect will not stop on his own."

kbolan@vancouversun.com

Read The Real Scoop at vancouversun.com/bolan

The Vancouver police public warning on the child sexual predator:

MESSAGE FROM INSPECTOR BOB USUI, SPECIAL INVESTIGATION SECTION

The Vancouver Police Department has been leading a team including the Delta Police and the Surrey RCMP to identify the suspect in three cases of sexual assault against children spanning from 1995 to 2009.

Today we are issuing a public warning regarding this suspect. We hope to generate more information which will lead to his capture.

We have disseminated information about the specifics of the cases for the media; however, we would like the public to be aware of his general method of operation and his appearance.

He approaches children as young as six years old on foot and asks for information, directions or seeks assistance in some way. When he gets close to the victims, he grabs the most vulnerable in the group, then brandishes a knife to garner cooperation from the other children. He walks them a short distance to a secluded area.

He is calm as he removes their clothing and sexually assaults them. He offers reassurance, but threatens to stab them if they do not cooperate. After he assaults the victim, he sometimes expresses remorse. He tells the children to count while he makes his escape on foot.

His description varies slightly in each of the cases, but generally he is described as a Caucasian man with some other unknown ethnicity.

He has Asian- or almond-shaped eyes and wore his hair in a ponytail in 2007, but not in 2009.

He is 5'8" to 6'0" tall with a medium build but heavier around the waist and 30 to 50 years old.

In the 2009 attack, he wore a dark button-up shirt that had Chinese dragons on it.

The RCMP Behavioural Sciences Group has worked closely with police to provide a profile of the perpetrator and what motivates him. We strongly believe that there are five additional cases linked to this suspect, and possibly more.

Please visit our website at www.vpd.ca and click on the link to learn more about this disturbing case.

Police have been actively canvassing areas around each of the crime sites, distributing flyers seeking information in an effort to create leads.

We have set up a tip line at 778-331-4100 or you can call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.

Someone out there has information that can assist us in solving this case. If you know this person, please call us.