Ontario Provincial Police say a British Columbia man has been charged in connection with a series of violent sexual assaults that occurred nearly three decades ago in southwestern Ontario.
The OPP said Wednesday that air project, A multi-jurisdictional investigation initiated with Sarnia Police led to the arrest of Jason Timothy Davidson, 52, of Campbell River, BC.
Davidson faces 15 charges, including aggravated sexual assault, kidnapping, forcible confinement and threats.
Police said four separate assaults occurred between March and August 1997 in Lambton counties, Kent counties and the city of Sarnia. Three of the four victims were minors at the time.
Details of the attacks
According to police, the first assault occurred on March 26, 1997, when a teenage girl was kidnapped in Sarnia, near Exmouth Street and Indian Road. They took her to a rural area in Sombra Township and sexually assaulted her before the suspect fled.
A second assault occurred on May 23, 1997, near Highway 21 in Thamesville. Another teenager was picked up by a stranger driving a light blue or gray two-door vehicle and taken to a wooded area where she was attacked.
The third reported assault occurred on June 7, 1997, when an adult woman was walking on Campbell Street in Sarnia around 2 a.m. Police said a man driving a red vehicle picked her up, took her to a remote area and sexually assaulted her.
The fourth incident occurred on August 20, 1997, when a young woman was abducted while walking on Grand Avenue West in Chatham. She was taken to Dover Township, Kent County, where she was sexually assaulted before being abandoned at the scene.
In all four cases, police said the suspect left after the assaults, leaving each victim behind.
Decades of research
Detective Inspector Michael Moore, who led aerial project for the OPP Criminal Investigation Division, said the cases were initially investigated separately by local police before similarities began to emerge.
“It wasn’t long before investigators noticed similarities between the attacks and the suspects’ descriptions,” Moore said. “In each case, the attacker used a vehicle to transport the victims to a remote location, committed the sexual assault and drove away, leaving the victims at the scene of each attack.”
He said the attacker was described as a white man in his 30s, around 5ft 8in or taller, with medium brown hair, a mustache and a distinctive nose.
Moore said that while early DNA work linked two of the assaults, investigators always believed all four were connected.
“Despite extensive investigative work and repeated public appeals, the cases remained unsolved until this year,” Moore said. “Advances in DNA technology and the resulting forensic analysis linked all four assaults to the same individual.”
Investigators said DNA evidence linked the attacks to a suspect, but the person’s identity remained unknown for years. In 2024, new forensic techniques, including investigative genetic genealogy, helped identify a suspect.
Davidson was arrested in Campbell River on Sunday with the help of the RCMP and Vancouver police, and then returned to Ontario.
“This arrest marks a significant development in a decades-long investigation,” Moore said.
“While we know that nothing can erase the pain these survivors have endured, we hope these charges bring some resolution for them and their families.”
“This arrest reflects decades of persistence and commitment,” said OPP Deputy Commissioner Marty Kearns, adding that the breakthrough “reinforces our commitment to providing answers and supporting victims.”
Davidson remains in custody and is scheduled to appear in court in Chatham on Wednesday.
