'She's not alone': Winnipeg mother of sex assault victim offers advice to teen, mom after St. Vital incident

A Winnipeg mother wants the girls and mothers affected by a "disgusting" incident at St. Vital Centre to know they're notalone.

In a post shared on Facebook on Thursday, oneWinnipeg mom said her daughter was shopping at the south Winnipeg mall on Sunday afternoon with friends when the girls noticed they were being followed by a middle-aged man holding a cylindrical container and a paper towel.

After the man came up behind them, the 14-year-old girl found a sticky white substanceon her back and in her hair.

The man is described as being 40-50 years old andabout 5-foot-8 with a heavy build and a wrinkled weathered-looking face, police said, adding he waswearing a flat-style blue felt hat with a small brim and blueplaid jacket.

• Police investigate after 14-year-old finds 'sticky white substance' on her back at St. Vital mall

Reading about it infuriatedLynn, whose real name CBC News is concealing to protect the identity of her 13-year-old daughter, who was sexually assaulted last year.

"It angers me, it disgusts me. I'm like, 'How does somebody have that thought process that that is OK?" Lynn said. "And how can our girls not go to a mall and hang out with their friends without feeling like they're being violated?"

'You're never quite prepared'

In 2016, Lynn's daughter was walking down the street in Wolseley when a man walked up to her, groped and fondled her and then bit her on the neck.

Lynn says like the girls at the St. Vital mall, her daughter had been just going about her day.

"It's always a parent's fear. You do so much to protect your children and you teach them about the stranger danger and what could possibly be out there. But you're never quite prepared for that," she said.

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Lynn said her daughter managed to kick the man between the legs and run, but wasn't able to get a good look at him. She filed a police report, but he was never found. She still struggles with the trauma of the incidentand now lives with PTSD, anxiety and depression.

"It just feels very scary and defeating to think, you know what, I'm trying to raise a strong, independent young woman and it only took a split second to rip her apart," said Lynn.

'She's not alone'

Lynn is a social worker and has experience dealing with victims of trauma, but she says she struggled with how to handle the situation when the victim was her own child.

She learned to let her daughter develop her own set of coping tools, including friends, a therapist, and lots of open communication.

"We just keep going. I just remind her every day that, 'You know what? You did zero to deserve that. You could be walking down the street buck naked and it gives no man, or woman, the right to touch your body,'" she said.

She hopes the girls who were targeted in the incident at St. Vital Mall know that, too.

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"At the end of the day we can't put them in a bubble, especially at 12, 13, 14 years old, when they're trying to learn about themselves and figure out who they are as people," she said.

For the victim's mother, Lynn had a few words of advice as well.

"Hold your daughter, and support her as much as you can, because she's going to be going through some really difficult things," she said.

"Remember that you need to take care of yourself, too. Once you get through the chaos and the darkness it does get better. You just keep going," she said

"It will be OK. Our kids surprise us and they're stronger than we ever think they are. And she's not alone."

Anyone withinformation about the incident at St. Vital Mall is asked to contact investigators at204-986-6245or Crime Stoppers at 204-786-TIPS (8477).