Culturally Enriching Crime in Canada

Several incidents have come to light recently in Canada, the vast majority of which seem to be connected to what we at The Lambeth Walk refer to as 'the joys of diversity and cultural enrichment'.


1) A Muslim doctor is accused of twice sexually assaulting a teenage boy at a children's hospital in Winnipeg. Police aren't ruling out the possibility of more victims coming forward:

Investigators and the WRHA aren't ruling out the potential for additional complaints against Walid Abdelhamid, who police identified yesterday as the doctor accused of twice sexually assaulting a patient Monday between 2 a.m. and 4 a.m.

A source said the alleged assaults occurred against a teenage boy in a patient room at the Children's Hospital of Winnipeg, which is part of the Health Sciences Centre campus.

Graham said Abdelhamid was licensed to treat patients, including children, at HSC, where he has worked for two years.

Such an incident at a Winnipeg hospital is extremely rare, officials said.

Const. Jacqueline Chaput, a police spokeswoman, said the patient wasn't physically injured but is emotionally traumatized.

"They're struggling through this," Chaput said of the patient's family.

Police have charged Abdelhamid, 29, with sexual assault, sexual interference, and sexual exploitation. He is in custody and may apply for bail in a Winnipeg courtroom today.

Abdelhamid is a resident doctor in the University of Manitoba's faculty of medicine. He isn't a Canadian citizen.

In a statement, the U of M said Abdelhamid is a postgraduate medical resident "sponsored under the auspices of a visa trainee agreement with international partners."

2) Youths have been rioting and causing trouble in certain areas of Montreal North. Although their backgrounds and intentions are not specified, some say the trouble is connected to the police shooting of a Honduran immigrant last year.

Quebec's Public Security Minister Jacques Dupuis blames rioting in Montreal North on a 'handful of agitators' who were out to disrupt life in the area.

His comments Wednesday were made in response to rioting that took place Tuesday night, ending with nine people being charged with mischief, assault and disturbing the peace. Those arrested are between the ages of 18 and 28.

Dupuis assured Quebecers the government is doing everything in its power to ease tensions in Montreal North, adding police are also working to get to the bottom of exactly what happened Tuesday night.

He also said he doesn't think there is any link between the riot and the stalled coroner's inquest into the shooting death of Fredy Villanueva by a police officer last summer in Montreal North, which triggered widespread rioting.

An altercation with police broke out just after 10 p.m. ET on Tuesday when police tried to get a group of young people to leave a neighbourhood park.

Const. Daniel Lacoursière said police got a call about a fight in Carignan Park, near the intersection of Rolland Boulevard and Renoir Street.

“When police got there, the fight was over. Some kids left the park and there was about 50 to 75 kids remaining in the park. So police preventatively stayed in the park so the fight wouldn't start over again,” said Lacoursière.

Some of the young people then began throwing objects at police cruisers. The officers ordered the crowd to leave but were ignored.

For a couple of hours, dozens of police officers played a game of cat-and-mouse with youths in the streets around the park.

The youths threw bottles and set fires in garbage cans, damaging storefronts, cars and bus shelters in the area.

One officer received minor injuries to his face and arm. Police said there may be more arrests.

Seven men were arraigned at the Montreal courthouse yesterday on charges ranging from assault to attempted murder, in the wake of the violent confrontation at the corner of Rolland Blvd. and Renoir St. that thrust the district back into the public spotlight. Kept in detention, all are to appear in court today for bail hearings. Five are in their 20s. Two are 19-year-old twins.


3) From Vlad Tepes, a list of crimes committed in which the perpetrators were caught but no names released:

Three men arrested for home invasion

OTTAWA — Police arrested three men in their early 20s accused of committing a home invasion in Morrisburg on Saturday afternoon.

The men, whose names have not been released, allegedly broke into an apartment and assaulted the resident. They were arrested a short distance from the apartment.

They are charged with breaking and entering, mischief, obstruction, breach of probation and breach of recognizance. A 23-year-old male is to appear in Morrisburg court August 4. Two other men aged 21 and 24 are in custody pending a later appearance in Cornwall court.

Man charged with impaired driving on 401

Police arrested a 36-year-old male for drunk driving during a traffic stop Sunday night.

Police also found small amounts of marijuana in his car when they stopped his car on Highway 401 near Morrisburg, about 80 kilometres south of Ottawa. He has been charged with several offences, including impaired driving, possession and failure to provide a breath sample. He will appear in Morrisbury court on August 4.

18-year-old charged with break-in in Berwick

An 18-year-old man faces mischief and break and enter charges after an attempted break-in Saturday morning

Police say the man tried to kick in the garage door of a home in Cockburn St., Berwick, Ont., 60 kilometres south-east of Ottawa. OPP arrested the 18-year-old a short distance from the residence.

He will appear in a Cornwall court July 28.

OTTAWA — Ottawa police are investigating an overnight stabbing near the Baseline Transit Station.

Police were called to the scene at 12:47 a.m. Monday and found a 17-year-old male who had been stabbed.

He underwent surgery for a punctured lung, but his wounds are not considered life-threatening and he was listed in stable condition Monday morning.

Police say the attack occurred on NCC land adjacent to the Transitway.

No arrests have been made and police are asking anyone with information to call West Division police at 613-236-1222 ext. 2212 or Crimestoppers at 613-233-8477 (TIPS).

Monday’s stabbing comes on the heels of a stabbing on an OC Transpo bus Friday afternoon that sent a 29-year-old man to hospital with a collapsed lung. That attack occurred on a No. 12 bus near Blair and Montreal roads. A young woman was arrested shortly after that attack.

Ottawa car chase ends in backyard

OTTAWA – Police have arrested two men after a high speed chase up Bank Street came to a crashing halt when the stolen dark green car plunged through a fence and into the backyard of an area home.

Paul Gallien was rollerblading when he saw the vehicle blowing by cars on Bank Street, south of Alta Vista Drive, with two police cars in hot pursuit.

As it approached Heron Road the car swerved through the Tim Horton’s on the south-east corner, narrowly missing one man whose clothes were ruffled by the car’s wake, Gallien said. He saw the car briefly became airborne as it crossed a grassy embankment before merging east on to Heron Road.

One block later the car turned south on Edge Hill Place, where it spun out and crashed into the backyard of the house on the south-east corner of Edge Hill and Anoka Street.

Police arrested one man in the car, and the other in a park one block south of the crash.

Police found items in the car they say are linked to an earlier break-in in the Bank and Heron area.

No one was injured in the chase.