Police release suspect sketch after sexual assault in Abbotsford, B.C.

Authorities have released a sketch of a suspect wanted in connection with a sexual assault in Abbotsford.

Police have released a sketch of a suspect wanted after a woman was reportedly sexually assaulted by a stranger in a park in Abbotsford, B.C.

The Abbotsford Police Department’s major crime unit is urging anyone who recognizes the man in the composite sketch to contact investigators immediately.

Officers were called to the city’s Mill Lake Park around 6:40 p.m. on March 25, after the woman said she was assaulted while walking on a path beside the lake between Ashley Way and Alta Avenue.

“She was alone when an unknown man approached her, asking for assistance to take a photo with his cellphone,” the department said in a statement following the attack.

“During this encounter, the victim was assaulted,” police added. “Although shaken, she was not physically injured.”

The suspect is described as approximately 5’8” tall, with a medium build, black hair and a black beard. Police say he was wearing black pants, a black and white rain jacket, and was carrying a black umbrella at the time of the attack.

“An additional detail about the suspect indicates that he spoke with an accent, suggesting that English might not be his first language,” police said in a statement accompanying the sketch on Friday.

Abbotsford police have stepped up their patrols in the Mill Lake area, both on foot and in vehicles, since the assault, the department said.

Describing the assault as “random,” investigators are asking anyone who recognizes the suspect, or who may have witnessed the assault, to contact police at 604-859-5225.