The Ontario Provincial Police have announced that a man from British Columbia has been charged in connection with a series of violent sexual assaults that occurred nearly 30 years ago in southwestern Ontario.
Following an investigation named Project Aerial in collaboration with the Sarnia police, Jason Timothy Davidson, aged 52 and residing in Campbell River, was arrested.
Davidson is now facing 15 charges, including aggravated sexual assault, kidnapping, forcible confinement, and uttering threats.
According to authorities, the assaults took place between March and August 1997 in Lambton County, Kent County, and the City of Sarnia, with three out of four victims being minors at the time.
Incident Details
Here are the specifics of each assault as provided by the police:
- March 26, 1997: A teenage girl was abducted in Sarnia near Exmouth Street and Indian Road, taken to a rural area in Sombra Township, and sexually assaulted before the perpetrator fled.
- May 23, 1997: Another teenage girl near Highway 21 in Thamesville was picked up by an unidentified man driving a light blue or grey two-door vehicle and assaulted in a wooded area.
- June 7, 1997: An adult woman walking along Campbell Street in Sarnia was picked up around 2 a.m. by a man driving a red vehicle, who then took her to a remote location and sexually assaulted her.
- Aug. 20, 1997: A young girl was abducted while walking on Grand Avenue West in Chatham, taken to Dover Township in Kent County, and sexually assaulted before being left at the scene.
Police reported that in all instances, the suspect drove away after the assaults, leaving the victims behind.
Decades of Inquiry
Det. Insp. Michael Moore, overseeing Project Aerial for the OPP’s Criminal Investigation Branch, mentioned that the cases were initially handled separately by local law enforcement until commonalities surfaced.
Moore stated, “Investigators quickly noticed parallels in the assaults and suspect descriptions. In each case, the perpetrator used a vehicle to transport the victims to an isolated area, carried out the assault, and then fled, leaving the victims at the scene.”
Describing the assailant as a white male in his 30s, approximately 5-foot-8 or taller, with medium brown hair, a mustache, and a distinctive nose, Moore highlighted that early DNA analysis linked two of the assaults, indicating a probable connection among all four cases.
Despite extensive efforts and public appeals, the cases remained unsolved until recent advancements in DNA technology. Forensic analysis ultimately tied all four assaults to the same individual.
The use of DNA evidence identified one suspect, whose identity remained unknown for years. In 2024, innovative forensic methods, including investigative genetic genealogy, led to the suspect’s identification.
Davidson was apprehended in Campbell River with the assistance of the RCMP and Vancouver police and subsequently extradited to Ontario.
Moore expressed, “
