Ontario Provincial Police have reported that a man from British Columbia has been arrested regarding a series of violent sexual assaults that occurred almost thirty years ago in various locations across southwestern Ontario. The arrest of Jason Timothy Davidson, aged 52, from Campbell River, was made following a joint investigation named Project Aerial involving the OPP and Sarnia police. Davidson faces multiple charges, including aggravated sexual assault, kidnapping, forcible confinement, and making threats.
The assaults, which took place between March and August 1997 in Lambton County, Kent County, and Sarnia, involved four separate incidents, three of which involved minors at the time. Each case involved the assailant driving away after the assault, leaving the victims at the scene. Specific details of each assault include a teenage girl being abducted in Sarnia and sexually assaulted in a rural area in Sombra Township in March 1997, another teenage girl being assaulted in a wooded area near Highway 21 in Thamesville in May 1997, an adult woman being sexually assaulted in a remote area in Sarnia in June 1997, and a young girl being abducted and assaulted in Dover Township, Kent County, in August 1997.
Det. Insp. Michael Moore, who oversaw Project Aerial for the OPP’s Criminal Investigation Branch, highlighted that the cases were initially investigated separately by local authorities before commonalities emerged. Investigators noted similarities in the attacks and descriptions of the suspect, who was described as a white man in his 30s, over 5 feet 8 inches tall, with medium brown hair, a moustache, and a distinctive nose. Despite years of investigation, the suspect’s identity remained unknown until new forensic techniques, including investigative genetic genealogy, led to the identification of Davidson.
Davidson was apprehended in Campbell River with the assistance of the RCMP and Vancouver police before being brought back to Ontario. Moore emphasized that the arrest signifies a significant breakthrough in a long-standing investigation and expressed hope that the charges bring a sense of closure to the survivors and their families. Davidson is currently in custody and appeared in Chatham court, with another court appearance scheduled for November 7. Authorities urge anyone with information on this case to contact the OPP at 1-888-310-1122.