Toronto police have received two new complaints of sexual assault against a man dressed in chassidic garb.
Police at 32 Division say that a 27-year-old woman was allegedly assaulted while walking home in the Bathurst Street and Steeles Avenue West area at approximately 11:30 p.m. on May 22.
A man approached the woman and asked if he could bless her. The woman refused. The man then allegedly assaulted the woman, offering another blessing, police say. The woman refused and continued walking. The man followed the woman to her residence. He only left after the family’s dog began barking.
READ: FOR THIRD TIME IN UNDER MONTH, EITZ CHAIM SCHOOL TARGET OF ANTI-SEMITISM
As well, on May 24, at about 4 p.m., a 38-year-old woman was in her residence, also in the Bathurst Street and Steeles Avenue West area, when a man knocked on her door and asked if he could give her a blessing as he walked into her entryway. The man allegedly sexually assaulted the woman inside her apartment, according to a police news release.
These reports follow an earlier one alleging that on May 23, a 37-year-old woman got onto an elevator near Bathurst Street and Steeles Avenue West, when, according to a police statement, a man got onto the same elevator from the ground floor. The man and woman engaged in conversation. The man said the woman needed a blessing, according to the police statement.
The man followed the woman to her apartment and advised her that she needed to be “cleansed” of her ex-husband. “He sexually assaulted the woman inside her apartment,” police say.
The man is described as six-feet tall, with a long brown beard, long brown sidelocks and glasses. He speaks Hebrew and English. He was wearing black shoes, black pants, a long black trench coat with a white-collared shirt underneath and a large, brimmed hat.
A security camera video of the man has been released and can be viewed on YouTube.
Police are concerned there may be other victims and encourage anyone with information to contact them.
