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Woman flees attacker on foot to seek help at rural Langley home

Woman alleges she was held against her will and sexually assaulted. Accused was arrested standing beside his car in the ditch.

A woman had to flee on foot and bang on the door of a rural Langley home after allegedly being held against her will and sexually assaulted on Monday morning, said Langley RCMP.

Around 2 a.m., Langley RCMP responded to a 911 call for assistance in the 21300 block of 4 Avenue.

Once on scene, officers were met by a distraught 28-year-old Surrey woman alleging she had been held against her will and was the victim of a sexual assault.

The woman, who is believed to live a high risk lifestyle, told officers that she had met a man earlier on a street in Surrey.

After driving into Langley with the man, the woman wanted out of the vehicle. A struggle ensued and the vehicle left the road and ran into a ditch, said Const. Craig Van Herk, media spokesperson for the Langley RCMP.

The woman ran from the car and sought help at a nearby residence. The Langley home owners helped out the distraught woman and quickly called 911, he said.

The suspect was arrested moments later standing beside his car, which was still in the ditch.

Paramedics checked the victim over at the scene but she wasn't taken to hospital, said Van Herk.

Twenty-seven-year-old James Kovach of Surrey has been charged with two counts of forcible confinement, two counts of sexual assault, attempting to choke to overcome and assault.

He has no prior criminal history.

He was released on $5,000 bail on Wednesday. His next court appearance is in Surrey Provincial Court on Aug. 6.

“This incident remains a priority investigation for the Langley RCMP," say Van Herk.

“Langley RCMP Serious Crime Section has conduct of this investigation and continues to consult with other policing agencies to ascertain if there are any connections with other on-going investigations.”

Police praise the quick actions of the victim and of the home owners who came to her aid.

"It wouldn't be easy to answer the door in the middle of the night to a distraught woman but it's nice to see in this day and age people are looking out for one another," said van Herk. "This woman may have been engaged in a high risk lifestyle but her actions of getting out of the car quickly and getting help and the public helping her and contacting us right away all led to police being able to make an arrest of the suspect right in place."

If you have information police need about this incident or this investigation call Langley RCMP at 604-532-3200 or if you wish to remain anonymous call Crimestoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS.



Monique Tamminga

About the Author: Monique Tamminga

Monique brings 20 years of award-winning journalism experience to the role of editor at the Penticton Western News. Of those years, 17 were spent working as a senior reporter and acting editor with the Langley Advance Times.
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