Police seeking suspect’s identity after Surrey sex assault

Surrey police are asking for the public’s help identifying a man suspected of sexually assaulting a child in September.

The Surrey Police Service says it’s been investigating since Sept. 17, when a 10-year-old girl reported the assault at a strip mall on 138 Street near 71 Avenue.

While inside a business with her guardian, the girl says she was “approached by a male adult who grabbed her buttocks and fled the scene,” police say.

Now, the SPS is releasing an image of the suspect, who is described as a 5’9″ man, approximately 20 to 30 years old, wearing a blue long-sleeved shirt, dark-coloured overalls, a light coloured hat, a light-coloured, cross-body bag and over-the-ear style headphones at the time.

Sgt. Tige Pollock says the incident didn’t appear to be a part of a pattern or ongoing risk to the public.

“Our investigators were working on other means attempting to identify this person. And then obviously they’ve had limited results with that. So that’s why they’ve now brought it forward to the public, to hopefully assist us in identifying who this person is,” Pollock explained.

Anyone with information about the incident or the identity of the suspect is asked to contact the SPS non-emergency line at 604-599-0502 or call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 and quote file number 25-81384 (SU).

—With files from Sonia Aslam