ONTARIO – Ontario police are investigating three reported rapes that occurred between the end of August and the end of September.
Ontario Police Chief Mike Iwai confirmed the cases remain open but declined to give more details because they are still under investigation.
The first rape report was Aug. 17. The second reported rape was Sept. 25 while the third sex assault was reported Sept. 28.
Iwai said rape kit examinations were performed on the women and police are waiting for test results.
“Generally speaking, if the person has DNA in the system that generally helps us locate and determine who our suspect is but not everyone is in the system,” he said.
Sex crimes in Ontario are on the upswing, according to statistics presented by Iwai to the Ontario City Council Oct. 10.
So far for 2023, Ontario police have recorded 89 sex crimes compared to 54 reported in September 2022
Iwai said the rise in sex crimes is troubling.
“Any increase in person crimes concerns me,” he said.
News tip? Contact reporter Pat Caldwell at [email protected]
HOW TO SUBSCRIBE – The Malheur Enterprise delivers quality local journalism – fair and accurate. You can read it any hour, any day with a digital subscription. Read it on your phone, your Tablet, your home computer. Click subscribe – $7.50 a month.