An Ontario man faces rape and robbery charges in a 1981 Edmonton sexual assault after police investigators used the National DNA Data Bank to create a genetic profile of their suspect.

John Edward Beausoleil, 66, was charged under the 1981 Criminal Code of Canada after Edmonton police re-evaluated the case in October 2018.

"'We identified some exhibits that would be suited for additional testing," said Staff Sgt. Ryan Tebb with the EPS historical crimes section. "Ultimately we ended up getting a hit back in relation to a DNA profile developed from the exhibit, which allowed us to move forward with criminal charges against Mr. Beausoleil."

On Sept. 18, 1981, police responded to a report of a sexual assault in the area of Lancaster Terrace and 156th Avenue.

At around 3:30 a.m., a 36-year-old woman was getting out of her vehicle in a parkade when she was accosted and sexually assaulted by a man. The man took her purse and fled.

Investigators at the time were unable to identify a suspect.

That changed after the recent creation of the suspect's DNA profile, which was compared to a known offender databank and resulted in a match.

Tebb declined to elaborate on Beausoleil's criminal history.

"We're certainly being mindful of Mr Beausoleil's potential criminality in our area, and we're looking at our other files. And as we review our files, being mindful that he was active in in 1981 and the potential that he could have been active at other time periods as well."

Before making the arrest, investigators contacted the complainant.

"Like any other sexual assault, our complainants in these occurrences they really are in control of the process," Tebb said. "They have the ability to make decisions about whether we're going to move forward with these investigations and move forward with charges or not.

"She was obviously pleased that we were coming forward with this information to bring some resolution to the incident."

Beausoleil, who was 27 at the time of the assault, was arrested Feb. 26 at his home in Orillia, Ont., with the help of Ontario Provincial Police.

He has since been transported to Edmonton.

Back in 2016, Edmonton police launched a two-year review of 2,400 historical unsolved sexual assault cases and identified 259 files best suited for further investigation, Tebb said.

"We're still looking at these files and we're looking for opportunities to advance our investigations, cold case sexual assaults and our historical homicides," Tebb said. "We are actively trying to pursue and try to bring some closure to these files."



