Aug 14, 2008 - 03:08 PM
By Kristen Billing
PETERBOROUGH -- The family of the 12-year-old victim of a recent kidnapping and sexual assault spoke out Thursday in hopes of reminding people who the real victim is in the case.
Members of the young girl’s family -- who cannot be named in order to protect the identity of the victim -- were in court Thursday to watch as the man accused of the abduction, 32-year-old Stanley Tippett, made a brief appearance. His case was suspended until Aug. 18.
Family members, who have been quiet until now, say the 12-year-old girl can’t remember what happened the night she was abducted. However, her mother says, the girl’s face and body are covered in scrapes and blisters.
Mr. Tippett is charged with kidnapping and sexual assault after the 12-year-old girl was abducted in Peterborough, driven to Courtice and sexually assaulted on Aug. 6. More charges are expected to be filed against him later today (Thursday).
“She’s usually home by 10 p.m.,” the victim’s grandmother says.
“They (people) are saying that she is a bad mother, it isn’t the truth. She’s a concerned mother. It’s out of character for (the 12-year-old girl) to be out that late,” she adds.
Choking back tears, she points out her granddaughter asked to go to a friend’s birthday party that night and, although they didn’t know where the party was, her granddaughter would always call from her cellphone to let her mother or ‘nana’ know where she was.
But on that night no call came.
After she drove around Peterborough looking for her granddaughter or friends who might know her whereabouts, the phone finally rang.
“At 12:30 a.m. I got a call from her friend saying that she was missing,” the grandmother says, adding at this point she checked the hospital and went to police.
“I told them (police) she was only 12 years old and this was weird for her.
“Some several hours later, police said she had been found in Oshawa,” she said, bursting into tears.
According to police, the girls left the party and were on the street when a red mini-van pulled up. Although details are still unknown at this time, police say only the 12-year-old girl ended up inside the van, which then drove out of Peterborough and eventually parked behind Courtice High School, just east of Oshawa.
“I don’t know if she was lured into the van,” says the grandmother.
At about 2:20 a.m., Durham Regional Police received a report of screams coming from behind the school. Durham police say when officers arrived, the attacker fled in a red minivan, leaving the girl behind.
Mr. Tippett was arrested after he was found in a car near Porter Road in Manvers Township at 8:40 a.m. on Aug. 6.
Recommend :
Latest News
Ajax snowplow, car tangleAJAX -- There was minor damage when a car and a Town snowplow bumped against each other Wednesday morning. The incident happened at about 7 a.m. when the plow turned south...
Gun pointed at woman's head in robberyAJAX -- Two teenaged suspects are being sought by police investigating a street level robbery in Ajax in which a woman had a gun held to her head. The 26-year-old victim told...
Residents oppose north Ajax highriseAJAX -- A developer's plan for a 15-storey condominium was received with less-than open arms during an information session on Tuesday. Dunbury Developments is proposing...
Company hired to help restore St. FrancisAJAX -- A company has been hired to do interior restoration work on the former St. Francis de Sales Church. Rutherford Contracting will be paid almost $104,000 to do the first...
More snow, freezing rain on the wayOSHAWA - Residents should keep shovels handy and snow-blowers tuned up as this latest blast of wintery weather is expected to continue throughout today into the early evening...
Woman forced into van, sexually assaultedOSHAWA -- A woman was sexually assaulted by a man who forced her into his van last Friday in Oshawa. Durham police are seeking assistance in identifying the man, who...
Man reports being shot in AjaxAJAX -- A Scarborough man said he was shot in the hand in Ajax on Monday. Police were called to the Rouge Valley Ajax and Pickering Hospital at roughly 3 p.m. on Monday after...
GM still No. 1 despite sales decreaseDURHAM -- Despite a sinking U.S. auto market, the Canadian market managed to stay fairly steady in 2008, says a leading auto analyst. "For the full year, Canada performed...
Avery Louise helps mom and dad ring in the new yearOSHAWA -- When Dave and Michelle Cylwa arrived at Lakeridge Health Oshawa at 4 a.m. New Year's Day, they figured they'd be in for a long day -- one that would preclude their...
Four nabbed for warehouse break-inWHITBY -- Four people have been charged after police interrupted a break-in at a Whitby warehouse early Sunday. Durham officers responding to a 2 a.m. alarm call at a South...