GTA man, 19, faces sex assault charges in Sudbury

An undated image of the Greater Sudbury Police Service's crest on an officer's sleeve. (File photo/CTV News)

A 19-year-old man from the Greater Toronto Area has been arrested and charged in connection with an assault at a New Sudbury retail store last month.

Police said the accused was taken into custody shortly after 6:05 a.m. on April 8 with the assistance of the Toronto Police Service. He faces two counts of sexual assault and two counts of criminal harassment.

The accused is scheduled to appear in video bail court in Greater Sudbury from Toronto later on Wednesday.

Investigation leads to southern Ontario suspect

The charges stem from an incident on March 26, when police said a male followed two females through the aisles of a retail store in the New Sudbury area around 1:40 p.m. and assaulted one of them.

The suspect fled the store before the victims alerted staff. The incident was later reported to police.

“Based on the investigation, it was determined that the individual is not a young offender and resides in southern Ontario,” Greater Sudbury Police said in a news release.

Detectives in the Major Crime Section and the Child Abuse and Sexual Assault Unit identified the individual believed to be responsible. An arrest warrant was granted, leading to the arrest in Toronto.

Victims not known to accused

The two females involved were 18 and 16 years old.

“The individuals are not known to each other,” police said in an earlier news release, last month.

“Due to the sensitive nature of the incident and to protect those impacted by the incident, no further details will be provided,” said police.

Earlier appeal for public’s help

In March, Sudbury police had asked for the public’s assistance to identify the individual, releasing images under a judge’s order.

“It is possible that the individual responsible for the assault may be a young person (under the age of 18), therefore, detectives have applied for and been granted permission to release the images pursuant to a judge’s order,” police said at the time.

Per the judge’s order, the images were removed from all publications as of 9 p.m. on April 1.