Detectives with the Niagara Regional Police Service (NRPS) Child Abuse and Sexual Assault Units are investigating a series of sexual assaults that occurred during the “Happening” festival along Main Street in Grimsby on the evening of June 13, 2025.
Uniform officers from 8 District responded to the area following multiple reports of a man approaching young males in the crowd, asking their age, and then grabbing their genitals.
At this time, two adult male victims have come forward; however, investigators believe there may be additional victims and are seeking the public’s assistance.
As a result of the investigation, 33-year-old Hayden Jackson of no fixed address has been charged with the following offences:
Two counts of Sexual Assault One count of Assault
Jackson remains in custody and is scheduled to appear for a bail hearing on June 14, 2025, at the Robert S. K. Welch Courthouse in St. Catharines.
The accused is described as a white male, 33 years old, approximately 5’10” tall and 190–200 lbs. He has short brown hair, brown facial hair and a beard, and was wearing glasses, a black baseball cap, blue short-sleeved t-shirt, grey sweatpants, and a black backpack.
Investigators are appealing to anyone who may have witnessed the incidents or who may have had contact with the accused to contact the NRPS at 905-688-4111, option 3, extension 1009638.
Anonymous tips can be submitted through Crime Stoppers of Niagara at 1-800-222-8477 or online at www.crimestoppersniagara.ca. Crime Stoppers offers cash rewards for information leading to an arrest.
