Girl, 17, allegedly sexually assaulted at knifepoint, escapes from car trunk

A 19-year-old Regina man has been charged with sexual assault, attempted murder and kidnapping after a 17-year-old girl wasabducted at knife point Tuesday night.

Regina police said a man contacted the girl on Facebook after she said she was interested in buying a cellphone.

He offered to sell her his phone and made arrangements to meet her in a parking lot in the Glencairn area.

When she arrived, the suspect got into her car and pulled a knife on her. He drove around the city and outside the city and, during the time outside of Regina, allegedly sexually assaulted her. The accused also allegedly attempted to strangle or choke the teenage victim.

He put her in the trunk of the car and drove back to city. She managed to escape from the vehicle while it was stopped at a red light.She flagged down a citizen who called her mother, who took her to the Regina General Hospital.

Police were called to the hospital at 1:09 a.m. CST Wednesday regarding a sexual assault and began investigating.

During a media briefing Thursday, Supt. Corey Zaharuk said the incident happened over the course of about 3.5 hours.

"What I can tell you right now at this point in our investigation is the attempted murder charge is really the culmination of the event from start to finish," Zaharuk said.

Zaharuk added that investigators believe a knife and possibly a gun or an air-soft gun were used in the assault, noting the victim's injuries were serious.

The accused was arrested at a home on Forget Street about five hours after police were called. Zaharuk said the accused is on probation for another violent offence, but did not provide further details on that.

He added that investigators are not seeking any other suspects. He added that, so far, the investigation indicates the victim and suspect were not total strangers.

"It's important not to speculate about what a victim might have done differently, if anything at all," Zaharuk added. "I don't want to potentially infer any victim-blaming. There is no room for that."

The accused, 19-year-old Kohl Alexander Elder, appeared in court Thursday morning.

He is facing 10 offences, including:

• attempted murder
• kidnapping
• armed robbery
• overcomingresistance
• sexual assault with a weapon
• forcible confinement
• uttering threats
• possession of property obtained by crime under $5,000
• fail to comply with probation order
• possession of marijuana