Arrest made in ‘Woodland Rapist’ investigation, with ties to Waterloo Region, Peel and Halton cold cases

WARNING: This story includes graphic details of sex assaults involving children.

 

A British Columbia man has been charged with a series of child sex assaults that date back to the 1990s.

One of his alleged crimes happened in Waterloo Region.

On Wednesday, Peel region police announced the 64-year-old man had been arrested on March 3.

Richard Neil is facing a total of 20 charges, including: kidnapping, uttering death threats, sexual assault, sexual assault with a weapon, sexual interference, invitation to sexual touching, administering a noxious thing with intent, and forcible confinement.

Police said there is a publication ban currently in place to protect the identity of the victims. No additional information will be released at this time.

Unsolved cases

All of the alleged assaults happened in Waterloo, Peel and Halton Region between 1992 and 1995.

Children as young as eight were reportedly lured into wooded areas and were, in most cases, sexually assaulted.

Waterloo regional police told CTV News on Wednesday they couldn’t comment as Peel police are leading the multi-jurisdictional investigation. While no details have been shared about the specific incidents, CTV News was able to link it to a Kitchener, Ont. case based on the time frame, circumstances of the assault and a composite sketch previously released by police.

In August 1992, a man lured an 8-year-old boy into a wooded area at Idlewood Bush. Waterloo regional police told CTV News he had been tied to a tree and raped.

Three years later investigators tied the incident to two other unsolved cases through DNA.

One was the 1994 sexual assault of 10-year-old boy in Brampton, and second, the attack of a 15-year-old Oakville girl in 1995.

“What these three victims were put through is not only physically and psychologically – but given their ages – it’s extremely traumatic,” Staff Sgt. Steve Hibbard, with Waterloo regional police, said at a 1995 press conference.

Officials also released a composite sketch of the alleged attacker. He was described as 5-foot-9, with a slim build and strawberry-blonde hair that was pulled back into a ponytail. The man also had a freckled complexion and an unkempt appearance.

A composite image of a suspect in the 'Woodlands Rapist' case previously released by police. (Handout)

One month later, officers went door-to-door in Oakville and showed residents the suspect’s sketch. They confirmed the man, wanted for assaults in Kitchener, Oakville and Brampton, had also approached an 11-year-old and 12-year-old girl in an Oakville park in 1994.

In January 1996, investigators hoped to get a break in the case. They requested pictures from a Russian satellite during the 1994 attack on the 15-year-old Oakville. The teen had been tied to a tree for five hours while being assaulted. Police hoped the images would show a vehicle, or its license plate, belonging to the suspect. At this time, more than 200 potential suspects had been interviewed as part of the investigation.

“Project Woodland”

The investigation became known as “Project Woodland” and, despite the efforts of police, the search for the “Woodland Rapist” went cold. Searches in national DNA databases turned up no leads and investigators weren’t sure if perpetrator had died or moved away.

Authorities reopened the case in 2009. At that time, police released the image of a black cotton shirt that had been left at one of the crime scenes.

This black cotton shirt was left behind at one of the crime scenes.

No further details have been shared about what led to Richard Neil’s arrest on March 3.

Police are asking anyone with information to contact Peel’s Special Victims Unit at 905-453-2121, ext. 3460, or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477) or PeelCrimeStoppers.ca.