A 17-year-old boy is facing attempted murder charges in connection with an assault on a young girl that initially was suspected to be an animal attack in a small community west of Ottawa. The assault has left the child in the hospital with life-threatening injuries.
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) issued an advisory urging parents to keep young children indoors after a missing eight-year-old was found on June 25 in Quadeville, southeast of Barry’s Bay, with what appeared to be serious injuries caused by an animal attack, police said in a Facebook post.
Officers initially thought the girl’s injuries may have been inflicted by an animal, but testing of samples taken from the victim’s wounds has since revealed no traces of animal DNA, police said.
“During the investigation, the cause of the victim’s injuries was unclear,” OPP said in a July 9 Facebook post. “While early evidence suggested a possible animal attack, investigators did not rule out human involvement.”
The ongoing investigation led to the July 8 arrest of a 17-year-old boy from eastern Ontario. The suspect has been charged with attempted murder and sexual assault with a weapon on a person under 16 years old, police said.
The teen is being held in custody and will appear before an Ontario Court of Justice “at a later date,” the post said.
Missing Child Search
Police received a report about the missing Quadeville girl at approximately 9 p.m. on June 24. Officers with the Upper Ottawa Valley OPP detachment and the OPP emergency response team and canine units participated in the overnight search.
The canine unit found the girl just before 12:30 a.m. on June 25, police said. She was taken to hospital, then to a regional trauma centre and was still under the care of medical professionals in Ottawa as of July 10.
A GoFundMe page has been set up to help support the family of the young victim. A video on the page contains a message from a man who identified himself as the girl’s legal guardian. He said the child has undergone surgery and was in stable condition, but may require additional procedures.
The fundraiser had raised nearly $33,000 as of July 11 to help the family pay for gas and food as they travel the 169 kilometres from their home to the hospital to visit the girl.
Police are planning a town hall meeting on July 12 in Quadeville to address questions and concerns from local residents about the incident, the OPP said, adding that further information about the time and location of the meeting will be shared as it becomes available.
Anyone with information in the case, or who may have surveillance video has been asked to contact police or Crime Stoppers.
