There is little else more upsetting than finding out a sexual assault took place in your community and the violent perpetrator is still out there. As a community, we are collectively horrified that a woman was attacked while innocently putting out her garbage Tuesday evening.
Surely, we should be able to take our garbage to the curb, walk our dogs, go to the mailbox without fear of being sexually assaulted. The suspect forced her back into her Aldergrove home and sexually and physically assaulted her.
It makes us collectively sick and feeling vulnerable when these types of crimes take place so close to home. We go from going about our days fairly carefree to not feeling like it is safe to be out at night.
Thank goodness, random sex assaults like this don’t happen that often.
But that fact offers little comfort while the suspect remains at large. Many want to know the address or area where this sex assault took place. It’s understandable. But as police said, we all need to remain vigilant no matter where we live. The vile man who committed this heinous attack may not stay in that neighbourhood.
Our hearts go out to the victim whose life and the world she knew is forever changed.
To support her, we can do as the police ask. Think back to Tuesday evening and if you saw someone acting suspicious or out of place, or anything at all, no matter how small, call the tip line at 604-532-3398.
Another suggestion from an Aldergrove resident is to be a village, look out for your neighbours now more than ever. Be a nosy neighbour, keep outside lights on, have a look at the activity on your street.
It’s a full court press by police to get this suspect behind bars. We hope they will include the media in sharing any new information in a timely manner that could help lead to his arrest. Our commitment will be to update our readers as quickly and often as possible.