Ontario girl, 4, abducted from arena, assaulted

A four-year-old girl was abducted from a hockey arena washroom and then beaten in a nearby field, in an attack that has shaken her small Ontario village.

“I just don’t believe that anyone would do this to a 34-pound little girl,” the girl’s grandfather told mykawartha.com, a local news site, Wednesday. ‘‘We want the son of a bitch caught.’’

The girl was watching a hockey practice with her family Monday evening in Woodville, Ont., when she went to the washroom unattended at about 6:30 p.m. She was abducted from the washroom, assaulted and left in a nearby field.

A family member who checked on her found the washroom door locked. Tom Thornbury, an arena staff member, unlocked the door but the girl was gone. He later discovered her just outside the arena.

“My brother followed this noise that sounded like a little whine and that’s when he found her,” said Leonard Thornbury, the employee’s brother. Tom Thornbury confirmed Wednesday he found the girl but declined to comment because he was instructed by police not to give out details of the investigation.

The girl was rushed to Ross Memorial Hospital in Lindsay, Ont., and later transferred to The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto.

The girl has internal injuries, and her head “is all smashed up,” her grandfather told mykawartha.com, but she’s able to talk to her parents.

“She’s not good, but she’s coming along,” he said.

In a press release, Ontario Provincial Police Const. Mark Boileau did not address the nature of the injuries, including whether it had a sexual component. He told mykawartha.com that police are currently investigating a standard physical assault.

“It’s just devastating. The arena is like a second home to most families in the community,” Mr. Thornbury said.

“It’s always been safe here and now my wife goes into work late and drives my kids to school. She doesn’t want them to be alone. When you live in a small town you take these things for granted, that your kids are always safe.”

Woodville has a population of approximately 900, and like many small towns in Ontario, it is a big hockey community. There are 12 hockey teams and approximately 165 children play hockey in Woodville.

Shawn Gartlan, the former president of Woodville Minor Hockey, said people will think differently about how they let their children play at the arena.

“I don’t think it will affect the number of registrants but I think everyone will have their kids attached to their the hip from now on,” Mr. Gartlan said.

The arena cancelled all events Tuesday as the police continued to investigate but reopened Wednesday afternoon for the figure skating team.

‘‘We’ve got figure skating in [the arena] today and it looks like they’re out in full numbers,” said Craig Shanks, the parks and recreation manager for the Kawartha Lakes municipality.

codiwilson@nationalpost.com

via nationalpost.com