A man arrested by the Toronto Police Service (TPS) on Tuesday after an investigation into a trio of suspicious incidents involving children in the Junction area was previously convicted of kidnapping and repeatedly sexually assaulting a nine-year-old boy at knifepoint in Brampton.
Lucas Petrini, 34, was sentenced to 10 years in prison in 2010 for the 2008 attack.
At the time, police said the boy was kidnapped at knifepoint on his way to school in Brampton. Petrini, who was 18 years old in 2008, managed to get the boy into a nearby home where investigators say the child was repeatedly sexually assaulted over a six-hour period.
The boy managed to escape into the woods behind his school and run home, telling his parents what had occurred. Police said the boy was understandably “traumatized.”
Petrini was convicted two years later, ultimately serving eight years in prison before he was released in 2018 and began living in the Kingston, Ont. area under a 10-year long-term supervision order.
According to The Kingston Whig-Standard newspaper, Petrini’s presence in the community prompted Kingston Police to issue a rare public safety notice, saying he was at high-risk of reoffending.
The Whig Standard also reported that Petrini had more than once violated some of the conditions of his release while living in the city, with the Parole Board of Canada deeming him a “risk to society.”
‘Suspicious’ incidents involving Toronto children
It’s not clear when Petrini began living in Toronto. CityNews reached out to TPS to ask if the public was informed that he was living in the city but did not hear back before publication.
Petrini was arrested on Tuesday after allegedly approaching several children in the city’s west end.
Investigators say the incidents occurred between Feb. 13 and March 3, 2025, in the Annette Street, Pacific Avenue, Humberside Avenue and High Park areas.
In the first instance, police say two children were walking near Annette and Pacific when they were approached by an unknown male who attempted to get their attention by calling out to them and allegedly asking them to accompany him to an unknown location.
The children ran away.
On March 1, two children were walking in the same area when they noticed a man following them.
“The male tapped one of the children on the shoulder and told them to accompany him,” a police release alleges. “Both children began shouting to attract attention. One of the children was able to run away. The male tried to block the second child’s path, but the child was able to run towards a passerby for assistance.”
In the latest incident, on March 3, police say a child was walking in the Humberside Avenue and High Park Avenue area and was approached by an unknown man who tapped the child on the shoulder and attempted to start a conversation with the child. The child pushed the man and ran away, police added.
On Tuesday, March 4, officers were patrolling the area when they spotted the suspect and placed him under arrest.
Petrini, 34, was charged with 10 counts of failing to comply with a long-term supervision order and two counts of assault.
