By Taylor MacPherson

Amber Alert suspect appears in P.A. court

Jul 6, 2017 | 12:00 PM

The man accused of kidnapping and sexually assaulting a young girl made his first appearance this morning in Prince Albert Provincial Court.

Jarrod John Charles, 19, allegedly approached an eight-year-old girl who was playing alone on the playground outside Ecole Vickers Public School Tuesday afternoon. Security footage captured images of a suspect, allegedly Charles, talking to the girl before grabbing her, placing her in the backseat of his car and driving away.

The girl was reported missing almost immediately after her abduction, and a massive police manhunt began. The Amber Alert system was activated as Prince Albert Police scoured the city and surrounding areas for Charles.

Roughly six hours after the initial abduction, police announced the little girl had been found safely, but Charles was still at large. The manhunt, now province-wide, continued for another hour-and-a-half before police reported they had their man.

Charles is now facing numerous criminal charges including kidnapping, forcible confinement, sexual assault, sexual interference, invitation to sexual touching, abandoning a child and breaching his probation.

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The young victim’s identity, although shared widely across the province during the hunt for her abductor, can no longer be published because she is both a minor and the victim of an alleged sexual crime. paNOW has removed her name and photo from our previous stories as a courtesy to the victim and her family.

This morning, Charles made a very brief appearance in a Prince Albert courtroom. Charles’ shoulder-length hair was wild and unkempt, and he wore white, hooded coveralls which indicate his clothing may have been seized by police as evidence. He did not say a word as his case was adjourned to give him time to seek representation from Legal Aid. Charles will appear again tomorrow morning over video link from a correctional centre. The allegations against him have not been tested before the courts.

This is not the first time Charles has been accused of abducting children.

In September of 2016, Charles was criminally charged after triggering an Amber Alert in La Ronge. Charles, then 18, was accused of taking two young boys from the La Ronge area to his grandmother’s home in St. Louis, Sask., although the abduction charges were later dropped because the Crown did not feel they had sufficient evidence to proceed.

In December of last year Charles was sentenced for a sexual assault and breaching his probation order by being alone with children under age 16. He was given a sentence of three and a half months of time served, and was required to register as a sex offender. Included in the previous sentence was a three-year probation order forbidding Charles from having any unsupervised contact with children or attending parks or pools without a responsible adult who is aware of his criminal history.

Taylor.macpherson@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @TMacPhersonNews

Editor’s Note: As the matter is now before the courts, commenting is closed.