VANCOUVER Police are appealing for witnesses after a stranger tried to coax a teenaged boy into performing sexual acts last Friday (March 22) near an East Vancouver Skytrain station.

“This must have been a frightening and disturbing experience for the teenager, who was just walking home when he was approached by a man who made him feel unsafe,” said Constable Tania Visintin on Tuesday. “The teen did exactly what he was supposed to do by quickly going somewhere safe and reporting the incident to a trusted adult.”

The incident happened at around 8 p.m. on March 22. The 13-year-old victim was approached by a man near Duchess Street and Euclid Avenue and was asked where he lives and where he was going. The boy walked away, but the suspect continued to follow him, this time asking the teen to perform sexual acts on him.

“We commend the boy, who immediately reported the incident to a family member, and later called VPD,” said Visintin. “This allowed our investigators to begin an investigation immediately.”

The suspect is described as a South Asian man, 20-30 years old with a skinny build. He is approximately 5’8”, has short dark hair and had a moustache at the time of the incident. He was carrying a blue umbrella and spoke with a South Asian accent.

Anyone with information is asked to call investigators at 604-717-0600.