CALGARY – A 39-year-old man has been arrested in connection with the sexual assault of a Realtor at an open house in McKenzie Lake in June.
A man visited the open house in the 800 block of McKenzie Drive S.E. on the afternoon of June 22 and allegedly sexually assaulted the Realtor. Police said the man grabbed the woman and touched her sexually without consent.
Police responded to the home but the suspect had fled.
The investigation into the incident was aided by tips submitted to Crime Stoppers, as well as surveillance video gathered from the neighbourhood and a suspect was identified.
On Oct. 29, Parthasarthi Ramakrishnan, 39, was arrested and charged with one count of sexual assault.
“We believe this is a random attack and a crime of opportunity, we don’t believe he is responsible for any other than this one,” said Sgt. Stephen Mann of the Calgary Police Service.
The victim is no longer selling real estate and is pursuing education for another career, according to police.
Real estate professionals say they are concerned attacks like these will discourage people from the industry.
“People might make an assessment and say, I never want to be in that situation again, I never want to potentially have to deal with that again, and then they might leave the job and that’s unfortunate,” said Emma May, founder of Charles Real Estate.
She also said part of the job of being a real estate broker is to be readily available to the public for business, and that leaves them vulnerable.
“We are consistently balancing the need and desire to get people and buyers into a home, with our own personal safety,” said May.
Ramakrishnan is scheduled to appear in court on Nov. 27.
