Forensic find leads to man being charged in 2 violent sexual assaults from 2013, 2014
CBC
A man has been charged in connection with two violent sexual assaults dating back to 2013 and 2014 in Richmond Hill and Mississauga, York police said Wednesday.
The attacks bore similarities, but police said they weren't initially able to identify a suspect in either despite a "lengthy and thorough" investigation.
The first happened on Friday, Sept. 27, 2013, at approximately 12 a.m., when police said a female was getting off a transit bus in the area of South Service Road and Crestview Avenue in Mississauga. A man brought out a weapon, grabbed the victim and pulled her into a darkened area, where he sexually assaulted her.
On Thursday, Nov. 13, 2014, a female got off of a bus at approximately 12:30 a.m. at Yonge Street and Canyon Hill Avenue in Richmond Hill when she was approached by a man armed with a knife. Police said he demanded money, then pulled her into a field and sexually assaulted her.
York Regional Police said the investigation ramped back up in the fall of 2021 after the Centre for Forensic Sciences notified police of a forensic link from an unrelated occurrence.
York and Peel Regional Police were then able to identify the accused after pursuing this new information.
Jaehyun "David" Cho, 32, of Toronto, was arrested and charged on Friday.
Cho is facing two counts of each of the following charges: kidnapping, sexual assault with a weapon, uttering threats to cause death, disguise with intent, robbery, possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose. He was also charged with one count of sexual assault to cause bodily harm.
Police say there may be more victims and are urging others to come forward.
"There is no statute of limitations for sexual offences and offenders can be prosecuted well after the date of the offence," the news release reads.
Anyone with information to call their Special Victims Unit – Sexual Assault Section at 1-866-876-5423, ext. 7071, or contact Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-TIPS.
Cho is scheduled to appear in Newmarket court on Thursday.
It’s been a year of relearning how to live for a 41-year-old Wawa woman.
Prospectors staked claims around Nova Scotia in high numbers this year after Premier Tim Houston unveiled his new open-arms approach to natural resource development.
The Holt Liberals have found a way to keep their promise of lower gas prices just days before Christmas.
A man convicted of human smuggling last year has asked a United States court to continue his appeal without a lawyer, in a case where a family from India froze to death near the Manitoba-U.S. border in 2022.
The dream of those who wanted to breathe new life into Saskatoon’s bus barns in Caswell Hill is expected to come tumbling down next year.
Jill Finn is still haunted by the voice.
P.E.I.'s deputy premier Bloyce Thompson is expected to be sworn in as the province's next premier one day after Rob Lantz announced his resignation from the role and his bid for the permanent leadership of the province’s Progressive Conservative Party.
WARNING: This article may affect those who have experienced sexual violence or know someone affected by it.
The Ontario government has sided with the City of Hamilton in its push to continue a long-delayed James Street N., housing redevelopment, which proposes the creation of several hundred homes in the north end.
There's still no timeline on the official designation of an Ojibway National Urban Park — and a Parks Canada representative is asking the community to adjust its expectations.
As the cost of groceries continues to increase, one Edmonton organization is harnessing the power of bulk buying to ensure its members aren’t going hungry at a critical time every month.
A drug alert has been issued in Thunder Bay, Ont., over a toxic substance first found in Toronto earlier this fall.
Ontario’s municipal affairs minister says the province will move forward with a much-delayed mandatory review of the Greenbelt, but opposition critics say there's still no word on when the study of the ecologically sensitive zone will take place or who will conduct it.