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Business owner identified as suspect

Red Deer RCMP investigating possible sex assaults from 1990s

Dec 16, 2020 | 10:52 AM

A police investigation is underway into possible historical sex assaults that occurred in various locations in the city during the 1990s.

Red Deer RCMP says they have identified a local Red Deer business owner as a suspect, and are seeking information and disclosure from potential victims.

Mounties say they came into possession of several dated video recordings that show women involved in what appears to be non-consensual sexual encounters with a Red Deer man. The involved male has been identified, according to police, but the females have not been identified.

RCMP says it is possible that the females worked in the hospitality industry or visited licensed establishments prior to the video recordings being made.

“It is likely that the females in these recordings may have been drugged or otherwise incapacitated by intoxicants” says Sergeant Ian Ihme, Red Deer RCMP Detachment. “We understand that this is an unusual request, but we have evidence of a possible crime and we are committed to taking all measures to investigate.”

Red Deer RCMP says understand how difficult it may be to discuss the trauma associated with sexual assault and encourage victims to contact the Central Alberta Sexual Assault Support Centre to get support and to discuss past traumatic experiences with no pressure to report to the police. The Red Deer RCMP partners with the centre to provide the Supportive Reporting Program. Victims are able to obtain counselling from CASASC and report the offence to a plain clothes, trauma-informed police officer when they are comfortable, with the support and presence of their counsellor.

If you believe that you were a victim of the above sexual incidents in the 1990s, or have information about these video recordings, you are asked to contact the Red Deer RCMP at 403-343-5575. If you wish to remain anonymous, you can contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS), visit www.P3Tips.com or use the “P3 Tips” mobile app.