Cold case investigators have released a composite photo of a unique cargo van that they say was driven by a man who sexually assaulted two sex-trade workers more than a decade ago.
Police are hoping someone recognizes the van – white in colour with the word “Smooth” in large letters on the side – and knows the identity of the suspect in the Sept. 27, 2002, incidents.
“I’m hoping (the photo) will jog the memory of the public,” Det. Ali Ansari told CP24.com. “Somebody might have known this person.”
Ansari said “something” prompted police to take a closer look at the case, but he would not reveal what that “something” was.
He said police released the composite photo in their renewed appeal for tips because it would be a helpful visual aid.
Described by police as a sexual predator, the suspect sexually assaulted a 32-year-old woman inside a parked van near College Street and Spadina Avenue at 1 a.m. that day.
About 50 minutes later, a 43-year-old woman was viciously beaten and sexually assaulted inside the same van near Cherry Street and Front Street East, police said in a news release Thursday.
The suspect is described as a white male who is 30 to 40 years old and six feet tall with a medium build.
The van has two doors and may be a Ford model, police said.
Days after the assaults, police said the van’s interior was untidy, sheets of drywall and tools were kept in the back, and the partial licence plate number was 608.
Ansari said police do not know what the word “Smooth” stands for, be it a business or something else, and he realizes that the van may have a new look or it may no longer exist, given the amount of time that has passed.
“I don’t know if it’s there, but that’s why I would like the public to turn their minds back to 2002 and see if they recall someone with a van that had something like that,” Ansari said.
Anyone with information is asked to call police at 416-808-7474 ext. 7-7448 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-8477.
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