A man who last made the news for his charitable work is speaking out after seeing his photo in a paper as a suspect for a crime he said he did not commit.
Ivan "Biker Butch" Hopp, 74, says the RCMP got the wrong man when they released his photo identifying him as the suspect in a Nov. 22 sexual assault.
But police are not clearing his name just yet.
On May 2 Prince George RCMP released a photo of Hopp taken by a surveillance camera in the Queensway 7-11. Hopp turned himself into police on May 3 after the photo was made public.
"I just happened to be in the [convenience store]. I stop there for cigarettes all the time," Hopp said.
The surveillance photo of Hopp was taken close to the time when a women was sexually assaulted in the 1600 block of Queensway. Hopp appeared to match the description of the suspect: a Caucasian man approximately 60 years old, five foot 10 inches and 175 pounds. At the time of the attack, the suspect was wearing a dark down vest, dark toque and sunglasses.
In the photo, Hopp was also wearing a dark vest, dark toque and sunglasses.
RCMP spokesman Cpl. Craig Douglass said there was a strong reason to release the photo, and Hopp is still part of the ongoing investigation.
"We don't know that this individual did anything wrong, but we are following the due course of an investigation and he is just part of that process," Douglass said.
"We would be remiss if we did not pursue investigative avenues to do with him. At this point, no charges have been laid but further investigative channels are being pursued."
Hopp said he doesn't remember what he was doing that night, but the description does not resemble him since he weighs 130 lbs. He added he is not interested in anything sexual.
"I'm 74 years old. I've had prostate cancer - I can't get an erection."
He also said he's never own a burgundy car, saying that's what police said the suspect was driving. He said he was driving a blue 1987 Chevy truck at the time.
And furthermore, "I was at church, preparing for my baptism. But not at night."
Hopp said the police have been relentless, and he's had enough.
"They asked me to take a polygraph test. Because I refused, they said that's an admission of guilt," he said. "I've been down to the police station, being interrogated over and over. Charge me or leave me alone. The police are unable to prove that I committed this act."
The last time Hopp's photo was in the media, it was promoting his work to provide warm clothes to people living on the street. The Prince George Citizen ran a story about Hopp's efforts in January, 2008.
Since the surveillance photo ran in the media, it has changed the way people look at him, he said.
"Everybody in town thinks I'm a pedophile. The church I go to, they asked me about it," he said. "Everybody in town looks at me with a weird eye and cracks jokes at me. This has had a tremendous effect on my life."
Anyone with information about this crime is asked to call Prince George RCMP at 250-561-3300 or call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS(8477).
Tips can also be made online at www.pgcrimestoppers.bc.ca
