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Mon Jan 09 2012
One week after allegations of a shocking gang rape incident that began on Yonge St., Toronto police have released no further details of the investigation and say it could take “a long time” to break the case.
“It’s still ongoing, we’re still working with the victim to try and zero in on a location, which we can get more information from,” said Const. Wendy Drummond, spokesperson for the Toronto Police.
Many in the high-traffic area of Yonge and Gerrard Sts. have been on alert since police announced they were investigating a sex crime after a woman was picked up at random shortly after 9:30 p.m. last Tuesday.
The woman, 27, was walking south on Yonge St. when a black minivan carrying six men pulled up. She was coerced into the vehicle, though police have not provided details about how she was convinced to get in. She did not know her attackers.
The woman was taken to a home in the Yonge St. and Eglinton Ave. area, where she was sexually assaulted by all six men until, hours later, they fled the home, allowing her to escape. All six suspects remain at large.
Criticism arose last week that members of the community — specifically students at nearby Ryerson University — had not been given adequate warning or detail about the attack.
An official warning from Ryerson security was issued Friday — three days after the incident — said Bruce Piercey, of the university’s Public Affairs office.
The warning has been posted on bulletins around campus and emailed to departments. The security message was not posted on Ryerson’s security watch website until Monday afternoon.
Police have confirmed the woman was not a Ryerson student, but in light of the attack so close to campus, members of Ryerson Security met with a Toronto Police community response team Monday to go over safety tips to provide to students.
“After incidents like this, we always sit down and look at procedures and how things can be done better or differently,” Peircey said.
Lise Gotell, a sexual assault expert and professor of women’s studies at the University of Alberta, said police have a responsibility to provide information to the public without compromising the investigation, which can be a difficult balance.
In this case, police have provided detailed descriptions of the suspects, but Gotell said knowing how the woman was coerced into the vehicle is “a crucial bit of information” that may help women better understand the risk.
Toronto police have said they’ve released all the information possible in a sexual assault case, and done everything they can to promote public awareness.
“On the issue of getting into the car, we’re not holding anything back, there is nothing more to release,” said Mark Pugash, the Toronto police director of corporate communications, adding that there is also nothing to suggest a connection to a specific institution, such as Ryerson.
Pugash also said that issuing explicit safety warnings to women can be problematic for police because that can be perceived as victim blaming.
Amanda Dale — who worked on the recommendations for the 1999 Jane Doe audit of sexual-assault policing in Toronto — said police are correct not to give specific safety warnings, such as not going out after dark, because it restricts women’s freedoms.
“What we need (in community warnings) is sensible information, and then long-term strategies to actually prevent the crime.”
Suspect descriptions
Suspect 1: Brown, 6'1", medium build, with short, dark mohawk hair, overlapped teeth in front, eyes close together and a long nose. He was last seen wearing jeans and a grey sweater.
Suspect 2: Brown, 5'6", stocky build, with longer, curly dark hair, round beady eyes, with a mole on his right cheek.
Suspect 3: Brown, 5'8", stocky build with dark, long, wavy afro hair.
Suspect 4: Brown, 5'9", small build, unkempt dark hair, with a long face and a bump in his nose.
Suspect 5: Brown, 5'10", medium build, with short, dark hair in a mohawk style, and a square, cleft chin.
Suspect 6: Brown, 5'10", thin build with a long face.
But police have released little information about the violent crime, and with some in the area unaware of the incident, questions are being raised about whether police have adequately informed the public.
The details released paint a terrifying picture: the woman, 27, was walking south on Yonge St. near Gerrard St. just after 9:30 p.m. Tuesday when a black minivan carrying six men pulled up. The occupants demanded that she get in the car. Police will not say how the woman was coerced into the vehicle, but said she did not know the identity of her attackers.
She was then taken to a home in the Yonge St. and Eglinton Ave. area, where she was sexually assaulted by all six men until, hours later, they fled the home, allowing her to escape.
All the suspects in the violent crime are still at large.
Most problematic in view of public awareness, security services at nearby Ryerson University — where the campus reopened Thursday and classes resume Monday — have not been issued a warning bulletin to publicize the incident.
“They would normally issue a warning for this,” said Caitlin Smith, Ryerson Student Union president. “When anything like that happens it’s good for the community to know so that we can be aware of what’s happening on our campus — and Yonge and Gerrard is pretty much on our campus.”
Frankie Shen, a 23-year-old Ryerson student who lives at 40 Gerrard St., half a block east of Yonge, was shocked to learn about the incident. In the past, she’s seen posters at school about sexual assaults, but she had yet to hear of Tuesday’s incident.
“I thought it was a safe place, but now I’m worried,” she said.
Fellow Ryerson student Haley Le, 21, also had not heard about the attack, and expressed concern about leaving campus when her day ends.
“I’m glad I know now — I have class until 9:30 at night,” she said.
There is no official policy on warning the public, says Jane Doe, the pseudonym for a longtime advocate for sexual assault victims who was a victim in Toronto’s infamous Balcony Rapist case.
“There is a practice where police issue warnings when and if they think it’s appropriate. When they do issue, it’s fear-based and hysterical,” she said.
But Mark Pugash, head of communications for the Toronto Police, said the force has done everything in its power to alert the community, including issuing two news releases about the incident, sending officers out to canvass the area, and putting out information on social media, including Facebook and Twitter.
“We’ve used every communication channel — we have been all over the media, radio, television, speaking to businesses, getting footage.”
Barclay Jewelry, on the corner of Yonge St. and Gerrard St., said police had not come to the business or asked for video footage from security cameras, something they have done in the past.
Responding to questions about why police have not released more information, Pugash said that since they are dealing with a sexual assault case — as opposed to something like a homicide — it would be inappropriate to offer more details.
In the case of serious crimes, police sometimes set up a command post in the area, but that wasn’t warranted for this investigation because investigators did not believe it would help the case.
Police releases about the incident did not include a special warning to residents to be extra cautious, because that can be perceived as blaming the victim.
“We put out as much information as we can, to allow people to make decisions on how they are going to behave. I would guess that the vast majority of people, given that information, will judge themselves accordingly… Our message is be alert to your surroundings all the time.”
“It’s still ongoing, we’re still working with the victim to try and zero in on a location, which we can get more information from,” said Const. Wendy Drummond, spokesperson for the Toronto Police.
Many in the high-traffic area of Yonge and Gerrard Sts. have been on alert since police announced they were investigating a sex crime after a woman was picked up at random shortly after 9:30 p.m. last Tuesday.
The woman, 27, was walking south on Yonge St. when a black minivan carrying six men pulled up. She was coerced into the vehicle, though police have not provided details about how she was convinced to get in. She did not know her attackers.
The woman was taken to a home in the Yonge St. and Eglinton Ave. area, where she was sexually assaulted by all six men until, hours later, they fled the home, allowing her to escape. All six suspects remain at large.
Criticism arose last week that members of the community — specifically students at nearby Ryerson University — had not been given adequate warning or detail about the attack.
An official warning from Ryerson security was issued Friday — three days after the incident — said Bruce Piercey, of the university’s Public Affairs office.
The warning has been posted on bulletins around campus and emailed to departments. The security message was not posted on Ryerson’s security watch website until Monday afternoon.
Police have confirmed the woman was not a Ryerson student, but in light of the attack so close to campus, members of Ryerson Security met with a Toronto Police community response team Monday to go over safety tips to provide to students.
“After incidents like this, we always sit down and look at procedures and how things can be done better or differently,” Peircey said.
Lise Gotell, a sexual assault expert and professor of women’s studies at the University of Alberta, said police have a responsibility to provide information to the public without compromising the investigation, which can be a difficult balance.
In this case, police have provided detailed descriptions of the suspects, but Gotell said knowing how the woman was coerced into the vehicle is “a crucial bit of information” that may help women better understand the risk.
Toronto police have said they’ve released all the information possible in a sexual assault case, and done everything they can to promote public awareness.
“On the issue of getting into the car, we’re not holding anything back, there is nothing more to release,” said Mark Pugash, the Toronto police director of corporate communications, adding that there is also nothing to suggest a connection to a specific institution, such as Ryerson.
Pugash also said that issuing explicit safety warnings to women can be problematic for police because that can be perceived as victim blaming.
Amanda Dale — who worked on the recommendations for the 1999 Jane Doe audit of sexual-assault policing in Toronto — said police are correct not to give specific safety warnings, such as not going out after dark, because it restricts women’s freedoms.
“What we need (in community warnings) is sensible information, and then long-term strategies to actually prevent the crime.”
Suspect descriptions
Suspect 1: Brown, 6'1", medium build, with short, dark mohawk hair, overlapped teeth in front, eyes close together and a long nose. He was last seen wearing jeans and a grey sweater.
Suspect 2: Brown, 5'6", stocky build, with longer, curly dark hair, round beady eyes, with a mole on his right cheek.
Suspect 3: Brown, 5'8", stocky build with dark, long, wavy afro hair.
Suspect 4: Brown, 5'9", small build, unkempt dark hair, with a long face and a bump in his nose.
Suspect 5: Brown, 5'10", medium build, with short, dark hair in a mohawk style, and a square, cleft chin.
Suspect 6: Brown, 5'10", thin build with a long face.
Gang sex assault: Have police done enough to warn the public?
It could be among the most shocking sex crimes in Toronto’s recent history — a woman, forced at random off the city’s bustling main drag and into a car, where she was driven to a home and allegedly gang-raped by six men.But police have released little information about the violent crime, and with some in the area unaware of the incident, questions are being raised about whether police have adequately informed the public.
The details released paint a terrifying picture: the woman, 27, was walking south on Yonge St. near Gerrard St. just after 9:30 p.m. Tuesday when a black minivan carrying six men pulled up. The occupants demanded that she get in the car. Police will not say how the woman was coerced into the vehicle, but said she did not know the identity of her attackers.
She was then taken to a home in the Yonge St. and Eglinton Ave. area, where she was sexually assaulted by all six men until, hours later, they fled the home, allowing her to escape.
All the suspects in the violent crime are still at large.
Most problematic in view of public awareness, security services at nearby Ryerson University — where the campus reopened Thursday and classes resume Monday — have not been issued a warning bulletin to publicize the incident.
“They would normally issue a warning for this,” said Caitlin Smith, Ryerson Student Union president. “When anything like that happens it’s good for the community to know so that we can be aware of what’s happening on our campus — and Yonge and Gerrard is pretty much on our campus.”
Frankie Shen, a 23-year-old Ryerson student who lives at 40 Gerrard St., half a block east of Yonge, was shocked to learn about the incident. In the past, she’s seen posters at school about sexual assaults, but she had yet to hear of Tuesday’s incident.
“I thought it was a safe place, but now I’m worried,” she said.
Fellow Ryerson student Haley Le, 21, also had not heard about the attack, and expressed concern about leaving campus when her day ends.
“I’m glad I know now — I have class until 9:30 at night,” she said.
There is no official policy on warning the public, says Jane Doe, the pseudonym for a longtime advocate for sexual assault victims who was a victim in Toronto’s infamous Balcony Rapist case.
“There is a practice where police issue warnings when and if they think it’s appropriate. When they do issue, it’s fear-based and hysterical,” she said.
But Mark Pugash, head of communications for the Toronto Police, said the force has done everything in its power to alert the community, including issuing two news releases about the incident, sending officers out to canvass the area, and putting out information on social media, including Facebook and Twitter.
“We’ve used every communication channel — we have been all over the media, radio, television, speaking to businesses, getting footage.”
Barclay Jewelry, on the corner of Yonge St. and Gerrard St., said police had not come to the business or asked for video footage from security cameras, something they have done in the past.
Responding to questions about why police have not released more information, Pugash said that since they are dealing with a sexual assault case — as opposed to something like a homicide — it would be inappropriate to offer more details.
In the case of serious crimes, police sometimes set up a command post in the area, but that wasn’t warranted for this investigation because investigators did not believe it would help the case.
Police releases about the incident did not include a special warning to residents to be extra cautious, because that can be perceived as blaming the victim.
“We put out as much information as we can, to allow people to make decisions on how they are going to behave. I would guess that the vast majority of people, given that information, will judge themselves accordingly… Our message is be alert to your surroundings all the time.”
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