6 days ago
Man charged with sexually assaulting girl, 14, in public washroom in Vancouver
A suspect has been charged with sexually assaulting a teenage girl in a public bathroom in Vancouver on Wednesday, police say.
The alleged assault was part of an "alleged crime spree" that included a second assault and a bank robbery at a bank, the Vancouver Police Department (VPD) said in a release. All of the alleged crimes occurred at an office building at Cambie Street and West 41st Avenue, near Oakridge Centre.
A 58-year-old woman was leaving a medical appointment in the building when a man allegedly grabbed her and assaulted her around 5:15 p.m. PT, police said. She screamed and managed to get away without serious injury.
Minutes later, a 14-year-old girl was using a public washroom in the building when she was allegedly sexually assaulted and forcibly confined by a stranger armed with knife, police said. The suspect escaped after another person tried to enter the washroom, according to the release.
Police said the suspect then entered a bank on the ground floor of the building and allegedly robbed it. He was taken into custody around 5:40 p.m.
John Frederick Field, 62, of Surrey, B.C., has been charged with assault, sexual assault with a weapon against a person under 16, forcible confinement, carrying a concealed weapon, and robbery, police said. He remains in custody.
Field was subject to a Canada-wide warrant in 2022 when he failed to return to a halfway house after receiving statutory release from the maximum-security Kent Institution in Agassiz, B.C. At the time, VPD deemed him a "high-risk sex offender" and a significant risk to the public. He was arrested four days later by Surrey RCMP.
He was serving a sentence for sexual assault, break and enter, and robbery and theft at the time, and police said he had a history of committing violent offences while under the influence of drugs.
He was arrested four days later by Surrey RCMP.
