EDMONTON – The RCMP has laid charges in the serious assault of a six year-old girl that occurred on Saturday, December 20th on the Paul Band First Nation. The young girl continues to be treated in an Edmonton hospital for the serious injuries she sustained in the attack. The RCMP will not be releasing her name to protect her privacy.
James Clifford Paul, age 21, of no fixed address, has been charged with:
- S 239(1)(b) CC – Attempted Murder
- S 273(2)(b) CC – Aggravated Sexual Assault
- S 279(1.1) (b) CC – Kidnapping
Mr. Paul was arrested by police on Sunday on the Alexis First Nation. He has been remanded into custody and is set to appear in Court on January 7th, 2015 on these matters.
“This arrest came about so quickly because local citizens picked up the phone and called investigators with the information they needed to take this dangerous criminal off the streets,” said Superintendent Gary Steinke, Officer-in-Charge of the RCMP Serious Crimes Unit. “Our focus now is on helping the victim’s family and community deal with the impact of this horrendous attack.”
The RCMP would like to thank the citizens of the Paul Band and Alexis First Nations who provided them with information that helped police locate and arrest Mr. Paul within a day of the incident. Dozens of RCMP officers from the Edmonton area worked on this investigation over the weekend with the assistance of Police Dog Services and the Forensic Unit.
