PROJECT SCOURGE ARREST

CHIEF CONSTABLE JIM CHU

STATEMENT

Anyone who watches police shows on television might get the impression that most crimes can be solved in an hour and justice for the victims is swift and true. But in real life, there’s only one real true comparison between the movie cops and the men and women of law enforcement: they don’t give up and we don’t give up.

Fifteen years ago, at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 1, 1995, a 13 year old girl walked into the playground of Lord Nelson School grounds (2235 Kitchener Street, Vancouver). A man approached her and asked her if she could help him find his child.  He grabbed her by the wrist and told her he had a knife.  

The suspect pulled her to an outdoor stairwell attached to the school. She screamed and pleaded with him to let her go.  He put his hand over her mouth. He kept her in the stairwell for several minutes while he sexually assaulted her.

The victim is now 28 years old and she has been waiting all this time for justice.

Today, I want to tell her the wait is over.

We have arrested a man and charged him with her assault and the assault of other children in two other cases. At 3:04 p.m. on August 30, 2007, two 14 year old girls were walking east on 84th Avenue in the 10700 block of Delta. 

A man approached them for directions.  The suspect grabbed one girl’s arm and produced a knife. He forced the girls into a wooded area and told them not to run away or he would kill them. For several minutes he sexually assaulted both girls as he threatened them with the knife. 

In another case, at 9:00 p.m. on July 3, 2009, a six year old girl with her 12 year old brother and 15 year old friend, was walking east on 62 Avenue in the 13900 block in Surrey, BC. A man approached them and asked for directions. 

The man suddenly grabbed the little girl and brandished a knife as he walked her into the wooded area. He told the boys to follow or he would stab the girl. The suspect told the boys to get down on the ground and look away.  For several minutes he sexually assaulted the little girl after which he returned her to the boys, told them to wait ten minutes and left the scene on foot. 

The family of the victim has moved away from the area due to the emotional trauma of this incident.

The monster who committed these crimes left DNA evidence behind at all three scenes.

We have tied that DNA evidence to a 42 year old Vancouver resident. The chances that the DNA doesn’t belong to him are one in a quadrillion, that’s one in one thousand trillion.

He has been arrested and charged with 23 counts involving six different victims.

His arrest was the result of the efforts of the men and women, sworn and civilian, of a special task force called Project Scourge.  Driven by the heinous nature of these crimes they worked relentlessly employing cutting edge and old fashioned police work.

I want to be the first to thank them publicly for their outstanding performance of duty and their dogged persistence in solving these awful crimes.

DETECTIVE DAN MURPHY

STATEMENT

My name is Detective Dan Murphy of the Sex Crimes and Child Abuse Unit of the Vancouver Police Department, and I have been the lead investigator of Project Scourge since it was formed in September 2009.

Although there will be a lot of focus on the investigation and the suspect that has now been charged, today is really about the victims. On behalf of every investigator involved, I would like to express our admiration for the courage and strength the victims have shown throughout this very long and very trying investigation.

For a victim to know that her attacker has committed crimes over a 15 year period with what must only have seemed like complete impunity is unimaginable.

The strength of the victims has inspired us all to continue to press forward toward this successful conclusion.

While working closely with the victims over a long period of time, investigators always hoped the day would come when they could share good news and everyone would be able to take comfort in knowing that an attacker had been caught.

Today is that day. We now have a face and a name for that attacker. He will now be held accountable for his actions. It is our hope that this will somehow help the victims and their families with the healing process.

I’d like to now take you through the timeline of the investigation beginning when the Project Scourge team was formed. On July 3, 2009, the Surrey offence occurred. Within weeks there was a forensic DNA linkage to the 2007 Delta incident and the 1995 Vancouver incident.

At this point we realized this was a situation that was every parent’s worst nightmare: the realization that this was a serial child sex predator, and that he was unidentified, at large and free to re-offend at will. This was the spark for Project Scourge.

Between July and December 2009, all three separate investigations were combined, there was a thorough review of the two older investigations, the Behavioural Sciences Group was consulted for similar files and profiling, and numerous witnesses and victims were re-interviewed. An initial persons-of-interest list was created from these sources and others, which was exhausted by the end of December 2009.

Investigators acknowledged that additional investigative techniques would be required to identify this suspect. Between January and November 2010, a media release was conducted with a tip-line for the public, neighbourhoods were re-canvassed, and an appeal was made to the suspect to turn himself in before he hurt any more children. Files with similar fact patterns were re-opened and actively investigated, and hundreds of individuals with proven or suspect involvement in sex offences against children were assessed.

The persons-of-interest list grew quickly. Hundreds were contacted and interviewed. As a result, countless forensic exhibits were obtained and sent for analysis.

Predatory, stranger attacks are extremely difficult because there are no known ties between the victim and attacker. Investigators embarked on alternative ways of identifying how the suspect was tied to the crime scenes.

I can now finally tell you that Ibata Noric HEXAMER is that person. His DNA was obtained and found to be a match in comparison to DNA from the crime scenes.

On December 10, 2010, at about 1:00 p.m., Ibata HEXAMER was arrested without incident in the City of Vancouver.

He has been charged with 23 counts under the Criminal Code of Canada, including sexual assault with a weapon, unlawful confinement, robbery, and many others. Please refer to the charge sheet for a list of all the charges.

He is currently remanded in custody.

Mr. HEXAMER is a 42 year old Vancouver resident who has had contact with police in the past, however, he has never been convicted of any previous criminal offenses.

This arrest marks the culmination of 18 months of hard work by countless investigators. At the beginning of this press conference, it was said that this investigation is not about the police members involved, and it isn’t. BUT there is one police member that supported us in every thing we did, Vancouver Police Department Inspector Bob Usui. Inspector Usui fought tirelessly for investigators and resources to keep Project Scourge alive and effective. His unwavering commitment to see justice for these child victims was inspiring. On behalf on the entire Project Scourge investigative team, thank you Inspector Usui. 

INSPECTOR BOB USUI

VPD SPECIAL INVESTIGATION UNIT

STATEMENT

This has been a very lengthy and difficult investigation for our team, but nothing compares to what the victims have gone through. Our thoughts are with them today as we make this important announcement and we hope they will find a small measure of comfort.

I want to begin by recognizing the lead investigator, Detective Constable Dan Murphy, and all of the officers who made up the Project Scourge team, including members of the Surrey detachment of the RCMP and the Delta Police Department. This team, along with dedicated surveillance units, worked non-stop for the past 18 months to catch this predator.

I also want to make special mention of the outstanding contribution of Special Constable Ryan Prox from Analytical Services, who played an integral role. We relied on highly skilled analytical expertise to help move the investigation forward and provide investigators with new avenues to follow up on when other paths came to a dead end.

Forensic specialists processed hundreds of exhibits in a quick manner, often under exigent circumstances. Service delivery partners in Corrections, Probation, and Parole, and the Behavioural Sciences Group must also be recognized for their important contributions and assistance.

On behalf of the Vancouver Police Department, I also want to thank the public and the media for their assistance at various stages in this investigation. Countless media appeals generated hundreds of tips, from which important information was gained. There were over 500 persons of interest identified, and hundreds were contacted by investigators. Thank you to all of you who helped us to narrow the field of suspects and move forward.

CHARGES

Ibata Noric HEXAMER

April 1, 1995

Vancouver – four charges

· sexual assault s. 271 Criminal Code of Canada

· sexual touching person under 14 years s.151

· invitation to sexual touching person under 14 years s.152

· unlawful confinement s. 279(2)

August 30, 2007

Delta – eight charges

· sexual assault with a weapon s. 272(2)(b)

· sexual assault with a weapon s. 272(2)(b)

· robbery s. 344(b)

· robbery s. 344(b)

· uttering threats s. 264(1)

· uttering threats s. 264(1)

· unlawful confinement s. 279(2)

· unlawful confinement s. 279(2)

July 3, 2009

Surrey – 11 charges

· sexual assault with a weapon s. 272(2)(b)

· sexual touching person under 16 yrs s. 151

· invitation to sexual touching person under 16 years s. 152

· uttering threats s. 164(1)

· unlawful confinement s. 279(2)

· assault with a weapon s. 267(1)

· uttering threats s. 264.1(1)

· unlawful confinement s. 279(2)

· assault with a weapon s. 267(a)

· uttering threats s. 264.1(1)

· unlawful confinement s. 279(2)

TOTAL – 23 CHARGES