Three eerily similar sexual assaults played out near Toronto's Annex neighbourhood over the Thanksgiving Weekend, police say – two of them within minutes of each other on the same corner. Police wouldn't say if they believe these three incidents are linked to each other or to the spate of assaults over the summer.
The incidents are familiar for people living and working in the area, near the corner of Bloor and Christie streets. Over the summer, the area was the site of 10 sexual assaults that left residents reeling. At the time, police said it's possible the suspect lived or worked in the area.
On Saturday at around 10:55 p.m., police say, a woman was walking south on Montrose Avenue from Harbord Street when a man rushed at her from behind, sexually assaulted her and fled north. Five minutes later, the same scenario played out again.
Police at 14 Division, which covers the neighbourhood, wouldn't elaborate on the proximity of the two incidents. Detectives from Toronto police's sex crimes unit could not be reached immediately.
On Sunday at 11:45 p.m., a woman walking southbound on Grace Street from Bloor was sexually assaulted from behind by a man who fled north.
The suspect in Sunday's incident is described as a heavyset black man in his mid-20s with short black hair. The suspects in the two Saturday assaults are described as black and heavily built, wearing a hat with a brim. One is described as between the ages of 25 and 45; the other, between 20 and 30.
The sexual assaults reported over the summer involved an assailant with a similar description also attacking women from behind.