B.C. man charged in historical sexual assaults in southwestern Ontario

OPP have made an arrest in connection to four historical sexual assaults with links to Sarnia, Chatham-Kent and British Columbia. CTV’s Bryan Bicknell reports.

Warning: The following article contains references to sexual assault

Following a decades-long investigation dubbed ‘Project Aerial,’ police have arrested and charged a B.C. man in connection with multiple sexual assaults that happened in southwestern Ontario.

According to police, the assaults happened in Lambton County, Kent County, and Sarnia between March and August 1997.

At a news conference on Wednesday, Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) said advancements in DNA technology and Investigative Genetic Genealogy led to the identification of a 52-year-old man, who was arrested on Oct. 26 in Campbell River, B.C., with help from multiple police agencies.

The alleged incidents

March 26, 1997: Police said that around 9:30 p.m., a young girl was abducted in the area of Exmouth Street and Indian Road in the city of Sarnia. According to police, she was taken by a man she didn’t know, who was driving a dark blue, small or mid-sized vehicle to Sombra Township, Lambton County, where police said she was sexually assaulted. The investigation was led by OPP.

May 23, 1997: The OPP investigated a second incident that happened around 11:55 a.m. They said while walking along Highway 21 in the Town of Thamesville, Kent County, a young girl was picked up by a man she didn’t know in a light blue or grey two-door vehicle. Police said she was taken to a wooded area, where she was sexually assaulted.

June 7, 1997: Around 2 a.m., a woman was picked up by a man she didn’t know while walking on Campbell Street in Sarnia, according to police. They say the suspect, driving a red vehicle, drove the victim to a remote area nearby, where she was sexually assaulted. The incident was investigated by the Sarnia Police Service.

Aug. 20, 1997: Police said the fourth incident happened around 10:40 p.m., when a young girl was picked up along Grand Avenue West in Chatham by a man she didn’t know. He was driving a blue vehicle, police said. According to police, the female was taken to Dover Township in Kent County, where she was sexually assaulted. OPP launched an investigation into this case.

Searching for a suspect

In all four cases, police noted that the assailant drove away after the assault, leaving each victim at the site of the alleged attacks.

Following reports of the incidents to police from the victims, descriptions of the assailant were shared publicly to encourage tips.

Police believed that the same person was responsible for the four incidents.

Over the years, two of the four incidents — the events from March and June 1997 — were linked to the same person using DNA, police said.

Despite extensive efforts and repeated public appeals, the identity of a suspect remained unknown for many years.

“For 28 years, our teams have worked extremely hard to identify the accused by re-examining evidence, following-up on more than 450 tips, and reviewing countless witness statements,” said OPP Deputy Commissioner Marty Kearns in an interview with CTV News.

Arrest

In January 2024, police said advancements in DNA technology linked the four assaults to the same individual.

Using Investigative Genetic Genealogy and other investigative techniques, police were able to identify the person they believed to be responsible.

On Oct. 26, with help from the RCMP, the Vancouver Police Department, the OPP Criminal Investigation Branch and the OPP Emergency Response Team, an arrest was made in Campbell River.

The accused was transferred back to Ontario on Monday.

OPP say Jason Timothy Davidson faces 15 charges.

• Aggravated sexual assault
• Sexual assault — three counts
• Sexual assault causing bodily harm
• Sexual assault with a weapon
• Kidnapping
• Forcible confinement — four counts
• Uttering threats — three counts
• Theft

The accused remains in custody and is scheduled to appear before the Ontario Court of Justice in Chatham on Wednesday.

“Being able to let survivors know, after 28 long years of enduring the suffering that they’ve had to go through, I can’t even begin to imagine. But being able to tell them that we got him was a very big moment,” OPP Det. Insp. Michael Moore told CTV News in an interview on Wednesday.

What is Investigative Genetic Genealogy?

Investigative Genetic Genealogy (IGG) is a law enforcement technique that uses DNA from a crime scene to identify suspects or victims by searching public genealogy databases for matches to distant relatives.

OPP uses this method — which involves uploading a crime scene DNA profile to databases to find living or unidentified relatives — and builds a family tree to identify the person.

According to police, the process is a powerful tool for solving cold cases and identifying human remains.

Moore says the accused was not part of the investigation until he was identified through “investigative techniques.”

“That was the turning point. From there, our team utilized investigative genetic genealogy, and employed other investigative techniques to identify a suspect,” Moore said. “The police do work with companies in order to be able to access information that is voluntarily, and consent has been provided by the people signing up for individual companies.”

The OPP has been using IGG since 2019.

With files from CTV News London’s Bryan Bicknell