Accused in river trail assaults faces more charges

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This article was published 09/09/2021 (1202 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

What is being hailed as “fantastic police work” has resulted in the arrest of a man in connection with a string of sexual assaults along the city’s river trail system between April and August.

Winnipeg police first arrested Jordan Andrew Bruyere, 29, in relation to the sexual assault of a teenaged girl that occurred on the trail near Churchill High School in the early hours of the morning on Aug. 8.

Police released public warnings regarding a string of similar incidents along the river trail throughout the spring and summer and asked the public for help in finding Bruyere, who was arrested on Aug. 27.

Police said on Friday that Bruyere, who was out on bail for his earlier charges, was charged Thursday with four additional assaults that occurred along the river trail.

“Investigators did some fantastic police work and were able to make arrests in all five incidents,” said Winnipeg police service spokeswoman Const. Dani McKinnon.

“Investigators cast a very wide net and eventually their investigation became more pinpointed and we learned that (the suspect) was responsible for five of these incidents.”

McKinnon said police had put out warnings to the public in the last few weeks about the incidents on the river trail.

“I think people always have to proceed with caution, but I think there is definitely a sigh of relief with the police work that was done,” she said.

McKinnon said the first assault took place on April 8, around 8 p.m., when a woman in her 30s was attacked from behind and pulled to the ground by a man with a knife while she walked along the trail east of the legislative grounds. She said when the woman screamed, the suspect released her and fled on foot. The victim suffered minor injuries and called police.

McKinnon said that on June 4, around 4:30 a.m., a woman in her 20s was walking in the 300 block of Assiniboine Avenue when she stopped to ask an unknown man if she could borrow his phone. The man agreed but convinced the woman to walk with him towards Donald Street, ostensibly to get a better Wi-Fi connection. When she did, the suspect grabbed her from behind at the Donald Street bridge and pulled her towards the river at knifepoint, where he sexually assaulted her. The woman called the police and received medical attention after the suspect fled.

McKinnon said a week later, on June 12, at about 5:30 p.m., a woman in her 20s was walking along the river trail near the 200 block of Churchill Drive when she was attacked from behind and pulled to the ground by a man. The suspect ran away after they struggled and the woman screamed.

McKinnon said the final incident occurred on Aug. 8, at about 5:30 p.m., when a woman in her 20s, who was jogging on the river trail near Stradbrook Avenue and Harkness Avenue, was grabbed from behind and pulled to the ground by a man who had come up from the riverbank. The woman screamed and was able to escape while the suspect ran away.

Bruyere, who last month was charged with sexual assault, invitation to sexual touching and sexual interference, was charged Thursday with two counts of assault, one count of assault with a weapon and one count of sexual assault. He was detained in custody.

— with files from Julia-Simone Rutgers

kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca