Police have arrested a man accused of sexual assault against a woman at a New Westminster SkyTrain station back in February.
The alleged incident took place on Feb. 24 around 4:40 p.m. at the 22nd Street SkyTrain station.
The woman was standing on the platform when she alleges the man grabbed her and kissed her. She pushed him away and left to pick up her daughter. When she returned to the station 20 minutes later, she boarded a bus only to find the suspect boarding the same bus. He sat next to her, and when she tried to get off the bus, he grabbed her daughter’s leg, according to a press release from Transit Police.
Another passenger helped the victim and her daughter off the bus. The woman called police a short while later to report the incident, according to police.
Investigators were able to identify the suspect, and a warrant for his arrest was issued.
At about 7:30 a.m. on June 6, Transit Police received a report about a man yelling and waving a stick at the SeaBus terminal in Vancouver. When officers arrived, the man – identified as the suspect in the February incident in New Westminster – entered a restricted area of the terminal.
“Attempts to de-escalate the situation met with negative results with the man huddling down in a confined area consisting of steel and wooden beams. This area presented significant risk to the man and attending officers,” according to the release.
A negotiator with Transit Police and members of the Vancouver Police Department’s marine squad and emergency response team attended. Together they were able to get the man to leave the confined area. He was taken into custody without incident, police reported.
Stephen Silvester, 47, of no fixed address is charged with one count of sexual assault in connection to the alleged February incident. His next court appearance is scheduled for June 15, after press deadlines.
