Man arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting female youth in St. John's

Stephen Hopkins, 29, has been charged with sexual assault and other crimes after police allege he broke into a St. John's residence, assaulted a female youth, and then left the scene.

Royal Newfoundland Constabulary officers responded to the residence around 9 a.m. on Friday in the Cowan Heights area of the city, police said in a press release.

Officers later found asuspectnearby and arrested him, with theRNC's child abuse and sexual assault unit involved in the arrest.

According to the RNC, the alleged victim and the suspect did not know each other.

Police did not providean age of the youth.

Hopkins faces a charge of sexual assault, as well as countsof breaking and entering, forcible confinementand breach of court order. He's awaiting a bail hearing.

The Telegram reported Tuesday that Hopkins had been sentenced in Julyfor sexually assaulting women in 2019 on a trail around Long Pond, near Memorial University's main campus.

Because Hopkins had been in custody following his arrest, he was sentenced this summer to time served, as well as two years' probation.

His name has been placed on the sex offender registry for a decade.

Hopkins was cleared of aggravated assault and assault with a weapon charges in 2014, when a judge found he acted in self-defence after stabbing a man during a confrontation in the city's west end a year earlier.

Police investigators are asking anyone with information, or who may have video of the area, to contact the force.

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