A bail review on Thursday, brought by the Crown, has led to the Ontario Superior Court of Justice revoking the bail of Hamilton sexual assault suspect Leikeze Cheruiyot, 22, and returning him to custody.
Hamilton Police had previously issued a public warning about the former high school track star’s release earlier this month given his alleged involvement in violent sexual assaults and they released his photo to the public.
In the first incident on 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 man and dragged off the trail into a wooded area.
Police say the victim was gagged and her wrists bound behind her back and the man proceeded to assault her, but he was interrupted by witnesses walking by the area.
Cops say the man fled on foot southbound towards Upper Paradise and was later seen on video in the area of Edgehill Dr.
In the second incident on Aug 7, 2023, a 74-year-old woman was alone in her residence on the West Mountain when an unknown man entered her residence and confronted her while she was sleeping.
Cops say the man assaulted the victim for over an hour before leaving the residence on foot and investigators were unable to identify the suspect.
However, in January 2024, forensic evidence allegedly enabled investigators to connect the 2022 and 2023 assaults to the same suspect.
The accused is a former high school track star from Allan MacNab Secondary School.
Hamilton Police assembled a project team to identify and locate the offender who was found living in the U.S. and extradited to Canada in November 2024.
If you have any additional information that could help in these investigations, please call Det.-Const. Ben Kingdon at 905-540-5543 or email at [email protected].