Police say that a man has been charged in connection with the sexual assault and confinement of a woman at a hotel in southwest Calgary.

Officials say the victim met a man over a dating website and made arrangements to meet him on October 4 at a southwest hotel.

Police say the woman was then held against her will inside the room for over 11 hours where she was physically assaulted, sexually assaulted and burned. The male suspect also damaged her personal property during the course of confinement.

The woman was able to escape when the man stepped out of the room for a short time.

She ran to get help from workers in the hotel lobby and was able to get away in a taxi. Once home, the woman told her family about what happened who, in turn, contacted police.

Police arrested Vasilios “Billy” Georgopoulos, 37, of no fixed addess, at a different hotel in Calgary’s south end.

He is charged with:

  • sexual assault
  • forcible confinement
  • assault with a weapon
  • uttering threats
  • mischief - damage to property under $5,000

He is expected to appear in court on October 26.

Staff Sergeant Bruce Walker with the CPS Sex Crimes Unit says Georgopoulos is known to police in both Calgary and in Central Alberta.

"He frequents both areas. He has affiliations in both the City of Calgary and central Alberta."

Walker said police are not releasing many details about the victim given the nature of the crime and the fact that she is from a small town in Alberta.

"She was genuinely an innocent victim looking for a date and did not consent to what occurred in that hotel room."

He said that there are many precautions that people can take to prevent these sorts of situations.

"I think that anyone who is partaking of dating websites that it might be advantageous to meet somewhere public, where there are lots of people around," said Walker. "If you have a plan in place that you can say 'I feel uncomfortable', or if your Spidey-senses are going off, then you have a route to leave."

Walker said the victim is now getting the support she needs.

"This was quite a traumatic event for this woman and the fact that she is now surrounded by support from her friends and family and, again, anytime with these offences, we frontload with our community partners."

Anyone with information about this case is asked to contact the police non-emergency number at 403-266-1234, or Crime Stoppers anonymously using either of the following methods:

TALK: 1-800-222-8477
TYPE: www.calgarycrimestoppers.org