Castlegar man facing sexual assault charges after incident Friday
By Kyra Hoggan
A Castlegar man in his 60s is facing sexual assault charges after a bizarre incident on Columbia Avenue Friday.
According to RCMP Cpl. Deb Postnikoff, a 24-year-old woman attended the Castlegar police station Friday at about 5 p.m., reporting that a man she didn’t know had approached and accosted her.
“Apparently he invited her to his placed for watermelon and a massage, which the woman immediately declined,” Postnikoff said. She said the man then grabbed the young woman’s breast.
Postnikoff said the young woman was able to provide police with a very good description of her assailant, and immediate patrols led to the man being arrested within 15 minutes of the incident, walking on Columbia Avenue near CIBC. “He was lodged in cells until he sobered up, then released with a promise to appear in Castlegar court on Oct. 12,” she said, adding he’ll be facing a charge of sexual assault. “This is a very serious charge.” She added that women should be wary of men they don’t know approaching them on the street, and applauded this woman’s prompt reporting and excellent description, which led to the man’s immediate arrest. She also said any perception of “copping a feel” being harmless fun is a terribly flawed one – as evidenced by the consequences now facing the assailant in this case. The man was already well-known to police prior to this incident.
