Sex assault charge laid against Surrey man after attack near SkyTrain station: RCMP

Surrey, B.C. — The RCMP say a 30-year-old Surrey, B.C., man has been arrested and charged following an alleged sexual assault and robbery earlier this month.

They say police received a report just after 11 p.m. on July 10 that a woman had been sexually assaulted near the King George SkyTrain station.

Police say the victim was walking under the Expo line toward Fraser Highway when she was allegedly approached by a man with a weapon and robbed of her belongings.

They say the man then pulled the woman into nearby bushes and sexually assaulted her, resulting in minor injuries that were treated in hospital.

The Mounties say an investigation involving multiple RCMP units in Surrey resulted in the arrest of Hartley Ronald Duckhorn on Friday.

He was charged the following day with sexual assault with a weapon, use of an imitation firearm while committing an indictable offence, unlawful confinement, robbery and uttering threats.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 27, 2020.