Man arrested after alleged sexual assault at Saanich mall
A Saanich police uniform. (Saanich police / Facebook)
A 26-year-old man is in police custody after a girl was allegedly sexually assaulted at a Saanich shopping mall.
Saanich police say a "female youth" was in a store at the Tillicum Centre mall around 4:30 p.m. Wednesday when she was approached by a man she did not know.
The man started talking to the girl and asked her for a hug before he began to sexually assault her, police said in a news release Thursday.
Once the man left the store, the girl told mall security about the assault.
Security guards located the man in another part of the mall before police arrived and arrested him.
Saanich police say Joel Pich was held in custody and has been charged with one count of sexual assault.
"The youth in this case was very courageous," Saanich police spokesperson Const. Markus Anastasiades said.
"As she notified security immediately, police were able to identify and arrest this suspect and prevent him from committing further assaults."
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