WEB FIRST: Police make arrest in sexual assault cases
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Updated: July 09, 2009 12:14 PM
Vernon RCMP have a suspect in custody in connection with a series of Vernon sexual assaults involving the use of a white van.
Police were called to the Commonage Road area Tuesday night around 10 p.m. after a woman reported to police that she had been taken to the area by a man in a white van and had been assaulted.
Police report the woman managed to get away from the man and the van and call them.
A white GMC Safari van was located on Commonage Road near the Vernon Fish and Game Club facility.
The driver was taken into custody and the van seized for forensic examination.
Numerous officers from the Serious Crimes Unit and other sections within the Vernon detachment have been working around the clock on this case since the arrest of the suspect.
Michael Bopfinger, 34, from the Lumby area, appeared in Vernon Provincial Court Thursday to face two charges of aggravated sexual assault and forcible confinement, and one of sexual assault with a weapon and forcible confinement. He has been remanded in custody until July 15 for his next appearance.
These charges stem from the three victims that have come forward and filed complaints with the police about being assaulted by a suspect in a white van.
Police were first alerted to the case following an assault downtown on June 9. While investigating that matter, they were informed of an earlier assault involving a man and a white van.
The file is still actively being investigated and further charges could be laid in this case.
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