Internal bad date report describes disturbing sex assault in Kelowna

Photo: Contributed

HOPE Outreach executive director Angie Lohr

A Kelowna woman claims she was taken out to a quiet area in Kettle Valley where she was drugged and raped.

A bad date report filed through H.O.P.E. Outreach that was intended to stay internal but was posted to social media this week says a sex worker was communicating with a man on Facebook and agreed to meet him.

The report states a man allegedly picked up the female on Commerce Avenue and drove her out to a desolate spot in Kettle Valley in a white van on August 1.

"[He] stuck a needle in her arm with an unknown substance, forced her to snort a white substance that she reported smelt like nail polish remover and stuck a needle in her bum. He coerced her to have anal sex in the back of the van. He did not use a condom," the report said.

Angie Lohr, executive director of H.O.P.E Outreach, says she was surprised to see the report had been shared publicly.

"H.O.P.E takes care of all the bad date reporting in the Okanagan. We work with the agencies in town so if any women or men report bad dates, we stick the alerts out. There are about 200 agencies. It looks like someone saw that report from one of the agencies," Lohr said.

H.O.P.E Outreach’s primary focus is on women who are experiencing homelessness, addiction, exploitation and those working in the sex trade.

"Assaults are happening every day and we are here to protect the women and the survivor of these assaults."

"When people are in poverty or homelessness they are forced to do other things. Just look at the stats, perpetration against sex trade workers has gone up 30 per cent, and domestic violence has gone up 50 per cent. It is out of control," Lohr added.

Bad date reporting refers to systems where sex workers report violent incidents or safety concerns to peers or outreach workers, or track them in online databases. The system was born out of the necessity for sex workers to help keep each other safe.

The incident has been reported to Kelowna RCMP.

"This file is currently under investigation and there is no further comments at this time," said Const. Mike Della-Paolera.

The alleged suspect is described as a 32-year-old male, under 200 pounds with a beard and moustache.