A 57-year-old Burnaby man charged with sexual assault for allegedly groping a seven-year-old girl on SkyTrain earlier this year is scheduled to make his first appearance in B.C. Provincial Court this week.
Anthony Dennis Gulbrandsen was charged Friday in connection with the incident on Feb. 2.
He turned himself in that same day, according to police, after security images of him were released to the public.
Police originally recommended a charge of sexual inference, but he has now been charged with one count of sexual assault.
Metro Vancouver Transit Police said the alleged victim and her mother had boarded the SkyTrain at the Commercial-Broadway Station shortly after 7 p.m.
The suspect was already sitting across the aisle from where the mother and daughter sat down.
During the commute, police said he tried to get the young girl’s attention – allegedly making several lewd and vulgar comments detailing sexual acts he wanted to engage in with the seven-year-old.
At some point, he allegedly touched the girl’s buttocks before getting off the train at the Production Way Station in Burnaby, according to police.
A witness who overheard the alleged inappropriate remarks confronted him.
Transit Police also received an SMS text report from another SkyTrain passenger about the incident, police said.
Gulbrandsen is scheduled to make his first appearance in Vancouver provincial court Tuesday afternoon.
