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Fear may have silenced teen during assault

A 16-year-old girl allegedly molested on a bus in Coquitlam last month by a violent convict who had refused sexual offender treatment in prison, may have been too traumatized by fear to alert other passengers, say police.

A 16-year-old girl allegedly molested on a bus in Coquitlam last month by a violent convict who had refused sexual offender treatment in prison, may have been too traumatized by fear to alert other passengers, say police.

Transit Police spokeswoman Anne Drennan said Tuesday that although no witnesses have come forward, it doesn't mean that other riders made a conscious effort to ignore the girl.

"There weren't any witness reports. Now, whether that's because she didn't make any kind of noise when it was taking place, who knows? She was very frightened, and (the attacker) was very threatening in his words," said Drennan.

"She didn't shout out or tell him to stop, all the things we would recommend normally, and I think that's understandable. She didn't draw attention to herself and (the attacker) sat down directly beside her ... so it is possible that no one saw anything."

But there may be witnesses who are worried about putting themselves at risk if they get involved, she added, appealing for them to contact police.

At about 6 p.m. on Nov. 24, the Coquitlam student was waiting for a bus at the Lougheed Town Centre bus loop when she was approached by an older man who allegedly touched her while making inappropriate comments.

The man followed her onto the bus and sat beside her, where he allegedly continued to make inappropriate comments and sexually assaulted her before getting off the bus.

John Walter Sebela, 49, was arrested at his home on Thursday and remanded in custody until Dec. 10 pending a psychiatric assessment.

The teen is receiving support from family, friends, school counsellors and victim assistance staff.

Sebela served eight years in Alberta jails in the late-1990s for sexual assaults against three women and a child in Alberta, and for other assaults and robberies. While in prison he refused sexual offender treatment, and was labelled a dangerous offender at a high risk to reoffend.

A parole board report described Sebela as aggressive, threatening and likely to hurt or kill. Police in Alberta issued a province-wide alert when he was released, and he was later hounded out of Edmonton, Red Deer and Calgary.

He moved to Kelowna, where he accosted a 17-year-old girl. He received a suspended sentence and was placed on probation. Two days later, he was in Penticton, and was arrested for breaching the condition that he not be near children.

Community outrage and protests followed Sebela everywhere he moved, and he was eventually kicked out of six B.C. cities in less than a year.

After he was pushed out of the Okanagan and Prince George, he moved to Surrey. But he was only in Surrey a week before he again breached his probation.

The courts ordered Sebela to serve his probation in the centre for the mentally ill so authorities could monitor his integration. He qualified for the mental-health facility because of a head injury he suffered in a 1983 motorcycle accident.

However, he only lived in the supervised centre for one week, after he allegedly inappropriately touched a female worker in the facility.

It is unknown how long he has been living in Coquitlam.