A 32-year-old lawyer has been arrested in connection with four alleged sexual assaults of teenage girls in midtown Toronto.
Toronto police said Thursday that Francois LeSieur was arrested on Sept. 25 and charged with four counts of sexual assault.
A detective confirmed to CTV News that the suspect is the same Francois LeSieur listed online as a lawyer.
Earlier this month, police received multiple reports of sexual assaults in the Yonge Street and Eglinton Avenue area. The incidents occurred at various times of the day, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
In their statement announcing the arrest, police said a 15-year-old girl was sexually assaulted near the subway station at Yonge and Eglinton on two separate occasions, on Sept. 12 and Sept. 16.
On Sept. 16, a 14-year-old girl was sexually assaulted by a man at the Yonge-Eglinton Centre over the lunch hour, police said. Later that evening, a 16-year-old girl was sexually assaulted by a man while in the TTC station at Yonge and Bloor Streets.
Police launched an investigation, releasing two separate surveillance images of an individual they believed was responsible for the assaults. Investigators said that the suspect would evade detection by disappearing into heavy pedestrian traffic following the assaults.
Police say LeSieur is known to frequent the Yonge-Eglinton and Yonge-Bloor areas.
Sex Crimes Detective Const. Matthew Pinfold thanked the public, including Toronto transit riders, for their help.
“It’s because of them that we were able to identify a suspect,” Pinfold said.
Pinfold said he would not discuss the nature of the assaults, “but I can tell you that the victims did not sustain any physical injuries."
He said sexual assault can include "any form of contact of a sexual nature from kissing, grabbing, groping, up to and including penetration."
Lawyer Alex De Bousquet told CTVNews.ca that LeSieur worked at his firm on a contract basis for a few weeks and that he moved on to another firm after his contract ended in July.
A Francois David LeSieur is listed in the Law Society of Upper Canada's directory as a practising lawyer with the firm LeSieur Law. The address is listed as near Yonge and Bloor streets.
LeSieur is currently out on bail and is due back in court in November.
Police are concerned there may be other victims. Anyone with information is asked to contact police at 416- 808-7474 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-TIPS.
With files from The Canadian Press
