By admin 
WARNING: This article may impact people who have experienced sexual violence or know someone who has.
A 46-year-old man convicted of two violent assaults in 2013 has been arrested and faces several charges after a student was attacked early Friday morning while she slept in her student residence at the University of Manitoba.
Winnipeg police said Friday that a man entered the Arthur V. Mauro Residence on Dafoe Road, on the U of M’s south Winnipeg campus, and then forced his way into the victim’s room at 4:45 a.m. while she slept.
The woman fought off the intruder after he entered her room and physically assaulted her. She was treated for injuries and was in stable condition, police said Friday afternoon.
They released images of security video showing the suspect in the attack, along with a description of the man.
Winnipeg police released these photos Friday after a woman was attacked by an intruder in her university dorm early that morning. Garry Junior Ewards, 46, was arrested late Friday night in connection with the attack, police said Saturday. (Submitted by Winnipeg Police)
Around 11 p.m. Friday, officers responded to a call from a person who saw a man matching that description along the southbound stretch of Pembina Highway, police said in a Saturday update.
They found him in the 1800 block of Pembina Highway, north of Abinoji Mikanah. He was arrested and handed over to the police sex crimes unit.
They say they determined that Garry Junior Edwards, 46, entered the residential building and broke into a secure area, then into the victim’s room.
Edwards now faces a number of charges, including assault, theft and several counts of burglary, as well as a charge of attempting to overcome resistance by choking, suffocating or strangling someone in connection with Friday’s attack.
History of sexual violence
Police also confirmed Edwards is a registered sex offender with a history of sexual assault.
In November 2023 And last MayManitoba Justice issued public notices warning of his release from Stony Mountain Institution, just north of Winnipeg.
The messages, which identified him as Garry Edwards Jr., said he has a lengthy criminal record, including convictions for assault with a weapon, armed robbery, burglary, theft, assault and numerous recognizance violations.
The initial notice stated that he was released on Nov. 6 after serving a sentence for two counts of assault with a weapon, two counts of armed robbery, fleeing a peace officer, dangerous operation of a motor vehicle and theft over $ 5,000.
He was convicted of these crimes on October 29, 2013 and sentenced to twelve years, including pre-trial detention.
Police said at the time that his recent convictions were related to two incidents involving sexual assault against strangers on the same day in April 2012.
In the first case, he attacked a woman and dragged her into a dark part of a nearby building, where he sexually assaulted her after strangling her and threatening to stab her.
Less than an hour later, he attacked a second person by sneaking in behind her as she entered a secure building. He robbed her at knifepoint, sexually assaulted her and then stole her car. Police arrested him a short time later after spotting the stolen vehicle.
He was released in November under specific conditions.
The May 17 notice said he was being released from Stony Mountain Institution after serving a sentence for one count of unlawful at large, and warned that he posed a risk of sexual violence to all women and girls.
For anyone who has been sexually abused, support is available through crisis lines and local emergency services through the Ending Violence Association of Canada database. If you are in immediate danger or fear for your safety or the safety of others around you, call 911.
Winnipeg police say anyone who has experienced sexual assault can access victim services at 204-986-6350 or through the Clinic’s Sexual Assault Crisis Line at 204-786-8631.