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Donovan Adams arrested 1n

child sex assault case

» Adams was located and brought to court six days later

 
  

4 », Angela Espinoza
| News Editor

Minews
@theotherpress.ca
I? response to an August 27
sexual assault on a nine-
year-old Surrey girl, RCMP
arrested 23-year-old Donovan
Adams less than a week later on
September 2. The manhunt for
Adams began on August 28 and
ended in Robson Park, where
the assault allegedly took place.
Ata public hearing, Surrey
RCMP Superintendent Trent
Rolfe stated that, according
to the young girl, Adams
approached her open window
on the evening of the attack,

: and proceeded to lure her out.
: After the assault, Adams then
: took the girl to a neighbour's

: yard, where he instructed her
: to remain as he escaped. The

: girl immediately returned home :
: and told her mother, who then
: reported the crime and checked :
: her daughter into a hospital.

“She [the victim] helped

: us catch this man,” Rolfe told

: associated press. “Just her inner
: strength, the way she was able

: to describe these events and

: some of the detail that allowed

: our investigators to go seek out
: those pieces of evidence and

: point us to the right guy.”

Adams is currently being

: charged for sexual assault,
: sexual interference, committing :

: an indecent act, kidnapping,
: and breaking and entering.

Rolfe stated that the assault

: was a crime of “opportunity,”
: and with the window open and

the girl left on her own to sleep,

: Adams was able to attack.

CBC reported that Adams

: had previously been charged
: with “unlawfully being ina

: dwelling-house” in February
: 2013, although the crime was
: not of this magnitude.

Adams’ first court

: appearance was on the

: afternoon of his arrest, and he
: is set to make a second court

: appearance on September 10.

Crimes such as the young

girl’s assault via kidnapping

by a stranger are rare in BC. As

: RCMP Sergeant Dale Carr told
: CTV, “I don’t recall the last

: time we had a child taken by

: astranger and then ultimately
: sexually assaulted.”

: Child sexual abuse in BC

: According to the Elizabeth Fry
: Society website, the University
: of Victoria’s Sexual Assault

: Centre has reported that one-

: in-three girls and one-in-six

: boys in Canada, “experience

: some form of sexual abuse

: before the age of 18.”

In addition, a fact sheet

compiled in 2012 by the Ending
: Violence Association of BC

: shares a number of child sexual
: abuse statistics.

theotherpress.ca

 

While Rolfe reported

: that Adams had no known

: association or history with the
: victim, the Family Violence

: Statistical Profile reported

: that information from 2009

: showed children under the age
: of 18, “were most likely to be

: sexually victimized or physically
: assaulted by some[one]

: they knew (85 per cent of

: incidents).”

The Family Violence

: Statistical Profile also states,

: “Nearly 55,000 children and

: youth were victims of a sexual

: or physical offence in 2009.”

: The statistic adds that three out
: of ten times, the child’s parent

: was the perpetrator.

Annual September lockdown drills to commence at Douglas

» Emergency preparedness

| Cazzy Lewchuk
Staff Writer

 

y mid-September, both

the New Westminster
and Coquitlam campuses
of Douglas College will
have partaken in an annual
lockdown drill. This type of
procedure is preparation for
the potential event of a violent
intruder on campus or other
immediate threat to student
and faculty safety.

Each campus will be
alerted to the drill via the
PA-system. Those on school

: grounds will be instructed to

; get inside the closest room,

: lock the doors, cover the

: windows, turn out any sources
: of light, remain quiet, and stay :
close to the ground. Ideally, the :
: drill will be executed quickly:
: and with as little movement as
possible. The purpose of the

: drill is to simulate the events

: of areal lockdown as closely as :
: possible. Instructions on the

: procedure will be given during
: the drill by faculty; these

: instructions can also be found
: inside any of the respective

: campus classrooms.

Unlike a fire or earthquake

drill, the immediate goal in
: a lockdown is to secure the

: campus as well as everyone on
: it. This is because evacuating

: the building when there is a

: violent intruder at large would

be considerably less safe and
impede the police response.
Police will be on both

campuses during the drills
: to ensure students and
: faculty have followed proper

procedures. In the event of an

: actual lockdown, police would
: be on the scene as quickly as

: possible to subdue the danger
: and communicate with the

: college.

Nancy Constable, director

of safety, security, and risk
; management at Douglas
> College, is in charge of

orchestrating the upcoming

: drill by initiating and ending

: its procedure. “In any campus
: emergency my role is to ensure
: appropriate notification

: to the college community,’

: said Constable. She further

: explained that protecting

: lives is the top priority of the

: school, as well as commencing
: regular campus activities in

: acalm fashion following the

: respective drill or incident.

In the event of an actual

lockdown, Constable would

: initiate the procedure as

: usual, lockdown herself and

: others around her, and then

: communicate effectively with

* police on what to do next. After

: the procedure, an incident

: management team and crisis
: response team would be

: assembled and briefed. Such
: teams would also be directed
: by Constable.

Lockdown drills were last

held at the New Westminster
: campus in May 2013 and at

: the Coquitlam in September
: 2013. However, the current

: procedure is to hold one on

: each campus early during

: the fall semesters. Drill dates
: are planned well in advance,
: and for safety reasons, kept

: confidential; students will

: be informed on the actual

: drill days prior to the drill

* commencing.