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Witness To Alleged SkyTrain Assault Uses Power Of Internet To Find Victim

"She looked like she was going to cry. I touched her hand and made eye contact with her to let her know she's not alone."

Signs all over Metro Vancouver's SkyTrains ask that riders report any kind of harassment or inappropriate treatment they see during their commute, but one passenger took it upon herself to do something bigger.

Kathy Yu of Richmond B.C. posted a photo to the UBC Confessions Facebook page Thursday night, claiming that she saw a young woman being "sexually assaulted" on the train.

"He was feeling and rubbing the back of your right leg and butt with his left hand, moving up and down," the post reads. "I saw you moving away from him. I could tell that you were visibly uncomfortable."

Yu, who got off at the same SkyTrin stop as the alleged groper, reported the incident to Transit Police. However, the victim remained on the SkyTrain.

An officer spoke to the suspect, who was waiting in line for a bus and got his identification, said Transit Police spokesman Anne Drennan. However, without a victim, the 41-year-old man was allowed to leave.

"So obviously we're very much interested in speaking to the victim," Drennan told The Huffington Post B.C.

She said officers were keeping an eye out for someone who matched the victim's description on the Canada Line Friday morning.

"We want to commend the witness for coming forward the way she did," said Drennan. "That's exactly what we've been asking people to do. If you see something, say something."

She pointed out that riders can discreetly report incidents to TransLink by texting 87-77-77.

Yu said she posted a description of the suspect and the woman on Facebook because she wants to encourage the victim to come forward.

"She looked like she was going to cry," Yu wrote on Facebook. "I touched her hand and made eye contact with her to let her know she's not alone."

The Facebook post has been shared hundreds of times, but no one knows yet who the woman is.

Drennan said if the suspect is charged or convicted, it's likely travel restrictions would be imposed on him so that "at least the victim would be reassured the suspect wouldn't be on their portion of the transit system."

Here's the full text of the Facebook post:

Thursday morning at 8:20 am I saw a guy that was sexually harassing a girl. He was feeling and rubbing the back of her right leg and butt with his left hand, moving up and down. We were on the Richmond-Brighouse to waterfront skytrain around the Aberdeen and Bridgeport station. She didn’t get on the skytrain until the Lansdowne/Aberdeen station standing near the front at the yellow poles of the skytrain. She's an Asian girl (around 18-25 years old), black hair with straight front bangs. She was wearing a gray wool cardigan with a black t-shirt and ripped black jeans with a Gucci backpack, LV wallet and pink iphone6. I saw her moving away from him, I could tell that she was visibly uncomfortable. I took a picture of him touching her and talked to the police right after I got off the skytrain at Bridgeport to UBC with the pervert. She didn’t get off the skytrain so I didn’t know where she was headed. The pervert was a middle aged tanned Asian man wearing a green army camouflage jacket and blue jeans. The police took all his information and I filed a complaint. So if she could identify herself, the policeman said he will press charges since he has all the information on file. I have the policeman’s contact information and he will also be at the Bridgeport skytrain station again this time in the morning. To the girl: Please don’t ignore this issue, we should not condone his actions. I know you were scared to speak up, I hope you’re okay. (Please share this with friends because I’m not sure if the girl was a student or working).

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