A former high school track star has been arrested and charged with two sexual assaults in 2022 and 2023.
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Cops say Leikeze Cheruiyot, 22, was tracked down and arrested in the U.S. by dogged Hamilton Police sex crimes detectives. He has since been extradited to Canada.
According to police, on Wednesday, July 13, 2022, around 9:30 a.m., a woman was walking in the area of Upper Paradise and Donnici Dr. when she was approached by an unknown male and dragged off the trail into a wooded area.
The victim was gagged and her wrists bound behind her back. The male proceeded to assault her but was interrupted by witnesses walking in the area.
The suspect fled on foot southbound towards Upper Paradise and was later seen on video in the Edgehill Dr. area. Despite their best efforts, investigators were unable to identify the suspect.
Then on Aug. 7, 2023, a 74-year-old woman was alone in her residence in the West Mountain area when an unknown male entered her residence and confronted her when she was sleeping.
The male assaulted the victim for over an hour before leaving the residence on foot. Again, detectives were unable to identify the male.
Cops used a variety of investigative methods to identify a suspect, including liaising with other law enforcement agencies and the Ontario Serial Predator Investigations Coordinator.
In January 2024, forensic evidence helped investigators connect the two violent assaults to the same suspect. A team then identified — and located — the suspect.
Former Allan MacNab Secondary School student-athlete Cheruiyot was located living in the U.S. and was recently returned to Canada.
He appeared at a bail hearing on Wednesday and was held in custody. He has been charged with two counts of forcible confinement, aggravated sexual assault, break and enter to commit sexual assault, sexual assault and aggravated assault.
“Hamilton Police would like to thank the community and the United States authorities for their assistance in bringing closure to these two victims. These were violent incidents that targeted vulnerable victims,” police said in a press release.
@HunterTOSun