Post by sandy on Oct 22, 2005 11:58:00 GMT -5
lfpress.ca/newsstand/CityandRegion/2005/10/22/1273703-sun.html
Sex suspect nabbed
Sat, October 22, 2005
A sexual predator had been terrifying women in Sarnia for more than a year.
By KELLY PEDRO, Free Press Crime Reporter
Sgt. Scott MacLean, holds a picture of Raymond Nelson Comeau, 24, also known as Raymond Nelson Keoughan, who was charged with a series of break and enters and sexual assaults. (Susan Bradnam, LFP)
SARNIA -- A shoe helped Sarnia police nab a suspect after a sexual predator had been terrifying women here for more than a year.
Raymond Nelson Comeau, 24, also known as Raymond Nelson Keoughan, was charged yesterday with 19 offences, including sexual assault, choking and assault causing bodily harm, police said at a news conference.
He is to make a court appearance by video link Wednesday.
The arrest came Thursday after investigators received test results from the Centre of Forensic Sciences in Toronto.
"The City of Sarnia took the first step in taking back our community from an underlying sense of fear and apprehension that has gripped our residents for almost a year," said acting police Chief Phil Nelson.
Five women were attacked in Sarnia between September 2004 and August of this year.
In each case, the women -- whose ages and identities are protected -- were sleeping when an intruder broke in.
In some cases, the intruder was scared off, but in others, the women were attacked and sexually assaulted.
The intruder appeared to have targeted women sleeping in basement bedrooms, police said at the time.
Nelson thanked the women for their courage and determination, saying they were the "fuel" for investigators probing the case.
Lead investigator Sgt. Scott MacLean said the women were contacted Thursday and their response was "phenomenal."
"This crime has changed the lives of many people, including, obviously, all these victims," he said.
MacLean said police haven't determined how or why the women were targeted.
He added there was no indiction the women were stalked before they were attacked.
The pivotal point in the case, MacLean said, came Sept. 14 when a break-and-enter suspect lost a shoe while fleeing police.
Police chased the man between houses and through backyards around Wellington Street and Indian Road about 2 a.m., but lost him.
They were later called to Indian Road after a man reported he had been sitting on his patio when another man jumped the fence into his backyard and climbed the fence on the other side. The man left behind a rare shoe -- a Salomon Tech Amphibian, size 10 1/2 .
In the last five weeks, police concentrated on canvassing neighbours in southeast Sarnia, where they believed the suspect lived.
Comeau lives alone in that area, though police wouldn't say if he had been on their radar screen before they found the shoe.
Comeau, a self-employed carpet installer, has worked in Sarnia and throughout Southwestern Ontario as a subcontractor. He drives an extended white 1994 Dodge van with Ontario licence plate 586 ORN.
Police are still investigating and have contacted forces across Canada and the U.S. looking for similar cases.
Police ask anyone with more information to call 519-344-8861, ext. 5300
Sex suspect nabbed
Sat, October 22, 2005
A sexual predator had been terrifying women in Sarnia for more than a year.
By KELLY PEDRO, Free Press Crime Reporter
Sgt. Scott MacLean, holds a picture of Raymond Nelson Comeau, 24, also known as Raymond Nelson Keoughan, who was charged with a series of break and enters and sexual assaults. (Susan Bradnam, LFP)
SARNIA -- A shoe helped Sarnia police nab a suspect after a sexual predator had been terrifying women here for more than a year.
Raymond Nelson Comeau, 24, also known as Raymond Nelson Keoughan, was charged yesterday with 19 offences, including sexual assault, choking and assault causing bodily harm, police said at a news conference.
He is to make a court appearance by video link Wednesday.
The arrest came Thursday after investigators received test results from the Centre of Forensic Sciences in Toronto.
"The City of Sarnia took the first step in taking back our community from an underlying sense of fear and apprehension that has gripped our residents for almost a year," said acting police Chief Phil Nelson.
Five women were attacked in Sarnia between September 2004 and August of this year.
In each case, the women -- whose ages and identities are protected -- were sleeping when an intruder broke in.
In some cases, the intruder was scared off, but in others, the women were attacked and sexually assaulted.
The intruder appeared to have targeted women sleeping in basement bedrooms, police said at the time.
Nelson thanked the women for their courage and determination, saying they were the "fuel" for investigators probing the case.
Lead investigator Sgt. Scott MacLean said the women were contacted Thursday and their response was "phenomenal."
"This crime has changed the lives of many people, including, obviously, all these victims," he said.
MacLean said police haven't determined how or why the women were targeted.
He added there was no indiction the women were stalked before they were attacked.
The pivotal point in the case, MacLean said, came Sept. 14 when a break-and-enter suspect lost a shoe while fleeing police.
Police chased the man between houses and through backyards around Wellington Street and Indian Road about 2 a.m., but lost him.
They were later called to Indian Road after a man reported he had been sitting on his patio when another man jumped the fence into his backyard and climbed the fence on the other side. The man left behind a rare shoe -- a Salomon Tech Amphibian, size 10 1/2 .
In the last five weeks, police concentrated on canvassing neighbours in southeast Sarnia, where they believed the suspect lived.
Comeau lives alone in that area, though police wouldn't say if he had been on their radar screen before they found the shoe.
Comeau, a self-employed carpet installer, has worked in Sarnia and throughout Southwestern Ontario as a subcontractor. He drives an extended white 1994 Dodge van with Ontario licence plate 586 ORN.
Police are still investigating and have contacted forces across Canada and the U.S. looking for similar cases.
Police ask anyone with more information to call 519-344-8861, ext. 5300