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RUTH BONNEVILLE \/ FREE PRESS<\/p>\n
Scott William George, 28, has been charged after an incident at Darwin Elementary School Thursday.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen a student exited an adjacent stall that they were using, the man grabbed hold of the child. The child fought and managed to break free from the suspect, ran to a teacher and made a report,\u201d WPS Const. Dani McKinnon told reporters Friday.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat a brave student\u2026 This child fought their way out and quickly made a report, and here we are today. This person is in custody and did not have an opportunity to harm anybody else.\u201d<\/p>\n
The child did not require medical treatment. The WPS child abuse unit is working with the victim\u2019s family, McKinnon said.<\/p>\n
The suspect is not believed to have any connection with the school. Police said he fled the building and the school initiated a hold and secure protocol.<\/p>\n
A witness spotted the suspect running from the building and followed him in their vehicle until the man went inside St. Vital Centre, located a few hundred metres away.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat a brave student\u2026 This child fought their way out and quickly made a report, and here we are today.\u201d<\/p>\n
Police worked with mall security to track the suspect\u2019s movements throughout the building. Officers arrested him when he exited the mall, McKinnon said.<\/p>\n
She lauded the witness for safely following the suspect, saying the decision potentially prevented him from escaping on a bus, or disappearing into a business or residence.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt sounds like they just happened to be at the right place at the right time,\u201d McKinnon said. \u201cI will say that is some really proactive, excellent work.\u201d<\/p>\n
Scott William George, 28, has been charged with assault, forcible confinement and two counts of failing to comply with a prohibition regarding children. He was detained in custody.<\/p>\n
George has been a registered sex offender since he pleaded guilty to sexual interference and was sentenced to two years custody after admitting to grabbing the buttocks of a six-year-old girl in the lobby of the Scotiabank Theatre at CF Polo Park in July 2022.<\/p>\n
George, then 25, ran out of the theatre, with the girl\u2019s father in pursuit. Police arrested him a short distance away about 20 minutes later.<\/p>\n
George admitted touching the girl, telling police he \u201cdid not think (she) would be scared,\u201d Crown attorney David Gilleta told provincial court Judge Ray Wyant.<\/p>\n
When police asked George if he thought little girls liked being touched by older men, he replied \u201cpretty much,\u201d Gilleta said.<\/p>\n
George is from Berens River First Nation, spent much of his childhood in the care of Child and Family Services, has a history of substance abuse and is often homeless, according to court records.<\/p>\n
Prior to his July 2022 arrest, George had been sniffing lacquer and drinking hand sanitizer.<\/p>\n
According to a pre-sentence report provided to court, George downplayed the impact of his actions on the child and refused to consider sexual offender counselling.<\/p>\n
\u201cObviously that is not a fruitful position to take for any future risk reduction,\u201d Gilleta said.<\/p>\n
Wyant ordered George\u2019s name be included on the national sex offender registry for 10 years and prohibited him from contact with children 16 and younger for the same time period.<\/p>\n
His record, which dates back to 2015, also includes court order breaches, break-and-enters, weapons offences and property crimes.<\/p>\n
Most recently, George was sentenced last February to the equivalent of 90 days time served after he was seen brandishing a knife in a commercial parking lot on Taylor Avenue, breaching a probation condition that he not possess a weapon.<\/p>\n
A parent, who spoke to the Free Press on condition of anonymity, said their child is in the same class as the victim and was there when she ran into the room and reported the attack to a teacher.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy (child) said (their) friend went to the washroom, obviously by herself, and a man was in the washroom and came up behind her and put his hand over her mouth and kind of wrestled her. She broke free, frantically screaming down the hallway and ran into the classroom,\u201d the parent said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe teacher did a really good job of securing the room quickly. It sounds like a protocol was in place.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe teacher did a really good job of securing the room quickly. It sounds like a protocol was in place.\u201d<\/p>\n
The victim described her attacker to the teacher, saying it was a dark-skinned man wearing a medical mask. The teacher communicated that information to school administrators as the other students listened, the parent said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey had to get a description of what happened. Unfortunately, having that happen in front of a bunch of kids who are worried is shocking,\u201d the parent said.<\/p>\n
The parent said their child is having difficulty understanding what happened, and it is hard to explain because they are so young.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe had a horrible night.\u201d<\/p>\n
Darwin School Principal Erin Enns wrote a letter to parents Thursday, alerting them that an unknown person had entered the school.<\/p>\n
\u201cOften, when this sort of event occurs, students have questions and want to talk about what happened. I am sharing this information so that everyone in our community receives accurate information,\u201d Enns wrote in the letter, which was provided to the Free Press by a spokesperson for the Louis Riel School Division.<\/p>\n
Darwin School has made a team of administrators, students services teachers and clinical staff available to provide support to students and staff. It also sent a second letter to families with advice on how to discuss the incident with their children.<\/p>\n
The kindergarten to Grade 8 school has 228 children, the school division\u2019s dashboard notes.<\/p>\n
McKinnon said the school is not enrolled in the WPS school resource officer program. Uniformed and armed officers have worked in some schools since 2002, but Louis Riel ended its involvement with the program in 2021.<\/p>\n
Between 2016 and 2021, a single police officer was stationed across the Louis Riel division, which has 40 schools, the Free Press reported previously.<\/p>\n
The parent said they would like to see stricter security measures introduced to all schools in the province.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe protect our liquor stores more than we protect our children, in my opinion,\u201d they said.<\/p>\n
It is unclear how the suspect was able to enter the school. The WPS deferred comment to the school division, but the Free Press did not immediately receive a response.<\/p>\n
\u2014 with files from Dean Pritchard<\/p>\n
tyler.searle@freepress.mb.ca<\/p>\n
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Tyler Searle Tyler Searle is a multimedia producer who writes for the Free Press\u2019s city desk. A graduate of Red River College Polytechnic\u2019s creative communications program, he wrote for the Stonewall Teulon Tribune, Selkirk Record and Express Weekly News before joining the paper in 2022.\u00a0Read more about Tyler<\/a>.<\/p>\n Every piece of reporting Tyler produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print \u2014 part of the Free Press\u2018s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press\u2019s history and mandate<\/a>, and learn how our newsroom operates<\/a>.<\/p>\n Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber<\/a>.<\/p>\n Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.<\/p>\n \t\t
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