Man accused of touching child at St. Catharines community centre

A 30-year-old man is facing a number of charges including invitation to sexual touching after two incidents involving children in St. Catharines.

Police say a man approached a 10-year-old boy outside of a community centre on Russell Ave. around 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday.

The child’s mother, who was carrying her other six-year-old son at the time, confronted the stranger. Police say the man then “made physical contact” with the six-year-old.

Police allege the same person then approached a group of children playing nearby in the schoolyard of Harriet Tubman Public School. “The man is believed to have also briefly entered the school that was being used by a third party for an after school hours event,” said Niagara police in a news release.

Officers arrested Tyler Kevin Chambers, of St. Catharines, near the school.

He has been charged with invitation to sexual touching, assault, and two counts of breach of probation.

In October 2018, Chambers was charged after he allegedly grabbed a three-year-old girl who was walking with her mother near Bay St. South and Main St. West in Hamilton.

In 2017, he was charged with sexual assault for touching a 13-year-old and her 41-year-old mother inside a Simcoe restaurant. According to the Simcoe Reformer,
Chambers pleaded guilty to one count of sexual assault.

Chambers appeared in a St. Catharines courtroom on Wednesday and has been held in custody.

Detectives from the Niagara Regional Police Service Child Abuse Unit have taken over the investigation.

They believe there are more victims, particularly from the incidents involving Harriet Tubman Public School.

Anyone with information that could help with the investigation is asked to contact police at 905-688-4111, ext. 5100.