A 19-year-old Chinese citizen visiting Canada on a student visa and living in Mississauga faces multiple charges for allegedly abducting two young boys in separate incidents and briefly confining them in the basement of his rented home where they were assaulted.
Three other boys were approached by the same man, police said, but rebuffed his invitation to accompany him to his home on Tillsdown Drive. All five boys were under 14.
No sexual assault is alleged in any of the incidents and neither of the two children allegedly assaulted required hospital treatment.
Xiang (Jay) Gao-Strong has been charged with abduction, assault, forcible confinement and uttering threats.
He has no criminal record and was unknown to the five boys. He was to appear in court in Brampton Wednesday afternoon for a bail hearing.
No other suspects are being sought, said Constable Fiona Thivierge of Peel Regional Police.
All the alleged incidents are believed to have taken place this month.
Police were alerted on Monday, when the first boy, aged 12, was set free and told his parents what had happened.
"All I kept think was, 'Thank God we caught him now,'" Constable Thivierge said.
There is concern that Mr. Gao-Strong may have had dealings with other young people.
He was wearing a long, dark puffy jacket, and a fur hat with flaps covering the ears.
Anyone with information with information about him is being asked to contact the Peel police 11 Division,
Criminal Investigations Bureau at 905-453-2121 ext. 1133, or Peel Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).