An alleged sexual predator in Lanaudière who used dating sites to assault women or their children could have caused several victims in the Montreal area, believe the authorities.
Steve Fleury, 40, from Terrebonne, was first detained in October by police officers in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu in connection with two sexual assault cases they were investigating.
He would have attacked a 43-year-old woman from Saint-Eustache, contacted via a dating site.
The individual allegedly forced her to have sex with him at an appointment before she abused her, harassed her and threatened her.
The second victim is a nine-year-old girl from another lady, this time from Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, whom he had also met via the Internet last April.
The suspect allegedly sexually assaulted the child in addition to having sexual contact and inciting him to sexual contact with him.
He was formally charged in both cases and released on several conditions, including not being in the presence of minors and staying in his area of residence.
Serial
However, Fleury was pinned in a park in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu where there were children, December 11, and will remain behind bars until at least next Wednesday.
His behavior suggests to the investigators that he would not be at his first acts of the kind and that he could have committed other assaults according to his meetings.
"What is special is the age difference between the two complainants. This is one of the reasons why we believe that he may have made other victims, "says Sergeant Jérémie Lévesque of the Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu Police Service.
The police force used the serial crime investigation management structure, coordinated by the Sûreté du Québec, to try to link it to other similar cases.
The man had already been charged in 2015 with assault and mischief, but had been acquitted.
The police can be contacted in confidence about the individual at 1-800-659-4264.