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A Sarnia man was arrested Thursday in connection to a break-in and sexual assault investigation local police said involved a naked man with a knife.
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A man “made entry” into a home in the 300 block of Kathleen Avenue while a woman was sleeping on Tuesday around 3 a.m., police had said.
“She woke to a naked male standing beside her bed holding a knife. A struggle ensued where the (woman) caused the male to drop the knife and flee the residence. The (woman) was sexually assaulted, but did not require medical attention,” police said in a statement issued Tuesday afternoon.
Police alerted the public to an increased officer presence in that area near East Street as they searched for evidence and for the accused, a Caucasian man in his 20s with a bald head and a distinctive tattoo on the right side. In an update issued Wednesday, Sarnia police published a four-second video clip of a man without a shirt and a backward hat and backpack walking past a security camera and again asked for tips to identify him.
Matthew Holbrough appeared in Sarnia bail court Thursday facing charges of breaking and entering, sexual assault with a weapon, possessing a weapon – a knife – for a dangerous purpose, and two counts of breaching a recognizance.
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Holbrough, who wasn’t completely bald but had the sides of his head shaved leaving a short strip of hair down the middle, is also facing charges from 2022 in London, where a warrant has been issued for his arrest, records show.
A publication ban was ordered Thursday on any evidence heard about the Sarnia case in bail court. He was kept in custody and will return to court by video from the Sarnia Jail on Tuesday.
Holbrough briefly was reported missing earlier this year by Sarnia police. They said on May 14 he was last seen two weeks earlier in the area of London Road and Christina Street, but he was reported found later that day, they said.
It’s unclear how old Holbrough is. He’s 26, according to a Sarnia police press release issued Thursday, but the missing person report from May said he was 30.
Holbrough also appears to have ties to Stratford, according to his Facebook page.
“The circumstances of this incident were very alarming, necessitating a community public safety advisory. Our officers deployed all available resources to gather important evidence, establish an identity, locate the individual, and make an arrest. We hope this swift resolution provides a small measure of relief to the victim and to those impacted by this criminal act,” Chief Derek Davis said Thursday in a statement.
Sarnia police were canvassing the area for any potential witnesses or video surveillance, police said Tuesday. They asked anyone in the area of East and Wellington streets, Kathleen and Walnut avenues, and Cherry Drive with dashboard-cam or video surveillance, or anyone who saw something, to call Sarnia police Det. Reg Musclow at 519-344-8861 extension 6198.
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