Canadian authorities recently located and arrested a Ferndale man wanted for questioning in a sexual assault investigation in Whatcom County.
John Aaron Brooks, 37, traveled to Canada after a young adult reported to police that Brooks had assaulted them as a minor.
Brooks is suspected of abusing the young adult for years in Bellingham and other jurisdictions, while simultaneously supplying them with drugs and alcohol, according to Megan Peters of the Bellingham Police Department.
After the young adult reported himself to police, but before police could move to make an arrest, Brooks traveled to Canada in late July. When prosecutors and police learned he had left the country, a warrant was issued for his arrest, Peters said.
Canadian border officials were notified of the order and that Brooks had violated their country’s conditions of entry. Brooks was arrested on August 27.
After going through the Canadian legal process, Brooks was ordered deported by the Canada Border Services Agency on October 1 and was taken into custody by Bellingham police later that day.
He was booked into the Whatcom County Jail on a warrant for first-degree rape and a $500,000 bond.
