Toronto police have arrested and charged a 12-year-old boy in alleged sexual assaults that took place on walking trails and parks in the city’s east end last year.
Police say the boy has been charged with sexual assault in two of those cases, but will not face charges in five other alleged assaults because he was 11 years old at the time.
Children under 12 cannot face criminal charges in Canada.
Police say the boy was arrested on Monday, ending a search that saw police twice take the rare step of getting a court’s permission to temporarily release a picture of a youth suspect in their attempts to identify him.
Police first alerted the public to the series of alleged sexual assaults in July 2022, when four women were attacked on two different east-end trails.
Police say the charges the boy faces stem from Sept. 6, when police allege he sexually assaulted a woman at a park, then another woman on a nearby trail.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 20, 2023.
