Man charged after hospital employee sexually assaulted in parkade: Winnipeg police

A man has been charged after a hospital employee was sexually assaulted in the St. Boniface Hospital parkade.

Winnipeg police have charged a man accused of sexually assaulting a hospital employee in the parkade earlier this month.

According to police, the incident took place at 11 p.m. on Nov. 8 at St. Boniface Hospital.

Officers said a woman who worked at the hospital exited her vehicle and was confronted by a stranger in the parkade who asked her for the time. They allege the woman ended up trapped between two vehicles and was sexually assaulted.

According to police, the suspect ran away when the woman screamed. She alerted security and called police.

The victim did not need medical attention.

The next day, hospital security saw the man at 3:30 a.m. and detained him until police arrived.

A 27-year-old man has been charged with sexual assault and was detained in custody. The charge has not been proven in court.

The Winnipeg Regional Health Authority shared a memo sent to hospital employees about the incident.

“Our hearts go out to our colleague who experienced this sexual assault,” writes St. Boniface Hospital president and CEO Nicole Aminot. “No one should ever have to go through that, much less at work. We are sorry this happened, and rest assured we take this incident very seriously and do not want to see anything like this happen again at St. B.”

Aminot said the hospital is currently reviewing its security processes to see if improvements can be made. She said in the last two years, the hospital has made changes including improving lighting, hiring a roving security patrol for the parkade overnight, installing more mirrors and installing key card access for the parkade’s stairwell at Tache Avenue.

If you have been a victim of sexual assault, there are resources available. Survivors can call WPS Victim Services at 204-986-6350 or the Klinic Sexual Assault Crisis Line at 204-786-8631.