KITCHENER - A man charged with sexually assaulting three young girls in the region has reportedly died after being found in medical distress in his cell at Maplehurst Correctional Complex.
Timi Gusak, of Milton, was arrested in August for the sexual assaults of three girls under age six.
On Wednesday, Gusak’s family and lawyer, Lakin Afolabi, confirmed to CTV News that he had died, but did not say how.
“My heart goes out to his family, my heart also goes out to the families of his alleged victims who will never get a chance to see the justice system acquit or convict Mr. Gusak of these allegations,” Afolabi says in a statement.
One of the victim's mothers also told CTV that she received a call from police notifying her that Gusak had died. She can't be named to protect her child's identity. She told CTV on Thursday that she was still in shock.
"It's sad but in a good way," she said. "The children are protected, you know? He's going to meet the judge up there."
Gusak's father told CTV that his son was found in his cell at Maplehurst on Saturday and died on Tuesday.
A spokesperson for the Ministry of the Solicitor General couldn't provide a name, but confirmed that an inmate was found in medical distress on Saturday morning.
"Paramedics attended the facility and rushed the inmate to hospital," the spokersperson goes on.
"The ministry can confirm that an inmate from the Maplehurst Correctional Complex passed away at hospital the night of Oct. 8th."
On Thursday afternoon, Halton Regional Police told CTV in a statement that they were called to investigate the death but that it is not deemed suspicious.
The man's arrest was as a result of an investigation into the sexual assaults of three young girls in Kitchener and Waterloo over a six-year period dating back to 2013.
The most recent incident happened on Brybeck Crescent back in July and involved a four-year-old girl in the stairwell of an apartment building.
Shortly after, police said that DNA evidence had linked that sexual assault to two others: one on Patricia Avenue in Kitchener in 2017 and another on Barrie Place in Waterloo on 2013.
Both of those incidents also happened in apartment stairwells.
After his arrest, police also charged Gusak with child pornography charges.
Waterloo Regional Police said Thursday that the investigation is ongoing and that there could be more victims out there. They say they're working with their cyber crime and major crime units to try to identify any other possible victims.
None of the allegations against Gusak have been proven in court.
The Crown attorney on this case tells CTV she withdrew the charges against Gusak on Thursday because of his death.
