A 46-year-old man from Ste-Julie was charged Monday with multiple counts related to an assault in Mont St-Bruno Provincial Park.

Yves Roy appeared confused as he was charged with attempted murder, strangulation, and confinement after a woman was assaulted on Friday Sept. 2.

Police say a 50-year-old woman was running in the provincial park when the suspect attacked, throwing her on the ground, hitting her several times and trying to strangle her. She was badly injured, suffered a broken rib and ankle, and multiple cuts and scrapes, spending two days in hospital before recovering enough to go home.  

Police said they believe the man acted alone, planning the attack on a woman he didn’t know. They said he was unarmed, and used his physical strength to overpower the woman, who fought back, yelling and scaring him off. Police say he had selected the woman simply because she was in an isolated area of the park.


 

Longueuil police were able to create a composite picture of a suspect, and said they received 450 tips before setting up a command post inside the park the week following the attack.

Several women told police they had seen people acting suspiciously in the park before and after the woman was attacked.

The case was broken open when someone who knows Roy said they noticed a change in his behaviour around the time of the attack and recognized him from a police computer sketch that was widely circulated.

Police said they believe the attack at Mont St-Bruno is an isolated event, and believe the park remains safe, saying this is the only violent crime they have seen here in several years. The victim in the attack said she intends to return to the park to jog.


They say, however, that they believe Roy is responsible for similar crimes where the victim was randomly attacked, and are urging anyone with information or possible victims to come forward by calling Longueuil police at 450-463-7211.

Roy remains behind bars and returns to court Tuesday to set the date for his bail hearing. If convicted, he could be sentenced to a maximum of life in prison.

The suspect allegedly posted to his Facebook page 'I'm not a criminal' on the day of the attack.