A young woman newly arrived to Whistler has been the victim of a sexual assault and police are actively investigating the incident.
Staff Sgt. Steve LeClair said the assault was reported on Saturday (Sept. 1) in the 8300 block of Mountain View Drive.
LeClair said the victim was staying at a friend’s residence overnight on Friday (Aug. 31) when someone offered her drugs that are may have beeen MDMA.
“She passed out shortly after consuming drugs,” he said, adding around 12:30 a.m. everyone else left for another party. “She woke up later to find three people in her room with Australian accents.”
LeClair said the three suspects are alleged to have touched her inappropriately in a sexual manner and removed her clothing. However, as a result of the drugs she had difficulty speaking and breathing.
LeClair said the males eventually left and “the investigation is continuing in an effort to identify them.”
“We do not blame the victims of crime,” he said. “But we also encourage people to ensure they are partying in a safe fashion and don’t take illicit drugs that could impact them.”
Roadside assault in Pemberton
RCMP are investigating after a man was assaulted on the side of Highway 99 in Pemberton last Tuesday (Aug. 28).
LeClair said the assault occurred at 9 p.m. near Park Street, while the victim was walking on the shoulder of the highway.
He said a 10-year-old light blue Volkswagen Jetta pulled over and a Caucasian male in his 20s with curly brown hair, wearing a white T-shirt and blue pants, got out and attempted to punch the victim in the face.
“The victim dodged the punch and in self defence punched the suspect twice the face causing him to fall to the ground,” LeClair said.
He said a second male then got out of the vehicle and stuck the victim from behind, knocking him down. However, he said, the victim was able to use his elbow to defend himself at which point a female got out of the car to tell the two assailants they had the wrong person.
“Obviously this is a case of mistaken identity,” he said.
The second assailant is described as being in his 20s wearing a black baseball cap, black T-shirt and black track pants. LeClair said the incident is still under investigation and a sketch artist may be brought in to make composite drawings of the two suspects.
School zone enforced
RCMP are advising motorists that with the beginning of the academic year they will be out patrolling school zones throughout the area.
“Police were out in school zones this morning and afternoon and will continue to be out there,” LeClair said on Tuesday (Sept. 4). “Police will also be monitoring some of the areas where buses pick up children.”
He said fines for speeding in the 30 km/h zone during school hours range from $196 to $253.
A Birken home was broken into and several items stolen overnight on Thursday (Aug. 31) in the 2500 block of Summit Road while nobody was home.
LeClair said the complainant advised thieves gained entrance through a pair of French doors, without damaging them.
He said a Samsung 40 inch flatscreen TV, a 15 inch Macbook Pro and iPhone4 were stolen. The items were valued at $2,300.
