Sexual crimes on the rise in Montreal’s metro

MONTREAL – The number of sexual crimes committed in Montreal’s metro has been on the rise over the past two years.

It’s only September, but there are already 26 complaints of sexual assault in the city’s public transit system.

READ MORE: #GetConsent: two-thirds of Canadians don’t fully understand sexual consent

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That number is rapidly approaching last year’s total of 31 cases – and it’s double the rate of crimes reported in 2013.

Montreal police could not say if there is an increase in sexual assaults in the metro, or if more victims are stepping forward.

However, authorities did confirm that most of the cases involved groping.

READ MORE: Prominent Quebec women speak out about sexual assault

“Touching breasts and everything, being close, some contact,” explained Roger Bélair with Montreal police.

“About 80 per cent of the crimes are contact and touching.”

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The station with the most reported incidents is Berri-UQAM, where the orange, green and yellow lines meet.

Montreal’s metro has about one million users each day.