Mounties in Surrey yesterday released a composite sketch of a man accused of sexually assaulting a young girl at knifepoint.
RCMP Sgt. Roger Morrow said the six-year-old girl “has been very strong throughout this whole ordeal.”
The sketch is based on a description from the young victim’s 12-year-old brother, who was threatened with a knife and told not to move while the man assaulted his sister.
“This is an image created from comments from a 12-year-old,” Morrow cautioned. “It is not a definitive picture, but rather a tool that our investigators will be using.”
None of the three children said they had seen the suspect prior to the assault, Morrow added.
On Friday evening, the girl, her brother and his 15-year-old friend were walking from a food outlet at 64th Avenue and King George Highway to their home near 62nd Avenue and 139th Street.
The area is residential but with swaths of brush and trees interspaced between houses.
A man in his late 20s or early 30s approached the youths with a folding knife and forced them into a treed area. There he threatened the two boys before taking the girl to a different area and sexually assaulting her.
Police were notified of the attack more than 20 hours after it occurred.
The girl’s father plastered posters around the neighbourhood, warning parents to be on the lookout for the man and offering to “pay good” if the man was brought to him.
Dozens of officers were involved in the search and were using Google Earth to scour the area “with a fine-toothed comb.”
RCMP have also implemented a tip line (604-599-7800) and have inquired to the National Sex Offender Registry in Ottawa.
