Hamilton Police investigators never gave up on finding the suspect involved in a violent sexual assault that occurred on the Hamilton West Mountain in July 2022.
On Wednesday, July 13, 2022, at approximately 9:30 a.m., a woman was walking in the area of Upper Paradise and Donnici Drive 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 by the area. The suspect fled on foot southbound towards Upper Paradise and was later seen on video in the area of Edgehill Drive.
At the time, investigators exhausted all investigative steps but were unable to identify the male offender.
On August 7, 2023, a 74-year-old female was alone in her residence on the West Mountain 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, investigators were unable to identify the suspect.
From 2022 onwards, there were extensive and various investigative techniques used to identify the suspect, including working with local school boards, sharing case information with other Ontario agencies through the Ontario Serial Predator Investigations Coordinator, following tips and identifying persons of interest.
In January 2024, forensic evidence enabled investigators to connect the 2022 and 2023 assaults to the same male suspect. Hamilton Police assembled a project team to identify and locate the offender.
Thanks to the extensive efforts of investigators, 22-year-old Leikeze Cheruiyot was located living in the United States and recently extradited to Canada. He appeared at a bail hearing on November 27, 2024, and was held in custody. He has been charged with the following offences:
- Forcible Confinement x 2
- Aggravated Sexual Assault
- Break and Enter Commit Sexual Assault
- Sexual Assault
- 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.
If you have any additional information that could help in these investigations, please call Detective Constable Ben Kingdon at 905-540-5543 or email at [email protected]. To provide information anonymously call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 of submit your anonymous tips online at http://www.crimestoppershamilton.com