Nanaimo Mounties seek suspect following sexual assault of woman

NANAIMO, B.C. – Mounties on Vancouver Island have released a composite sketch as they search for a man who allegedly sexually assaulted a 24-year-old woman.

Police say the woman was parked near a Shoppers Drug Mart in Nanaimo on Aug. 17 when a strange man came up to her and asked for a ride to the mall Woodgrove Centre.

The man asked to be dropped off near the cinema, and during the drive, he told the woman he had been at a wedding the night before, and that he owned a business that was failing financially.

When they arrived, the man made what police say were overt sexual gestures, locked the doors, choked the woman and tried to remove her shorts.

Police say the woman screamed and fought back, catching the attention of a man nearby and prompting her attacker to flee.

The suspect is described as a white man between 25 and 30 years old, roughly 5’10 with short brown hair, and wearing dress pants, a white dress shirt, a pink tie and a ball cap with a white emblem in the front. (CKAY)

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