TORONTO — A 36-year-old Richmond Hill man is facing sexual assault charges in connection with three incidents in Toronto’s High Park and three others throughout the city over the past year.
Police said that on May 3 and May 4, three separate women were walking along a pathway in High Park when they were allegedly approached by a man and sexually assaulted. Police released a sketch of the suspect, which they said proved vital in making an arrest.
Mark James Towell, who was already in custody for similar offences, was arrested and charged with three counts of sexual assault on Monday.
He’s accused in another sexual assault dating from October 2014, when a woman was grabbed from behind while walking in the Yonge and Finch area.
He faces more charges in two separate incidents in June, one on June 6 when a woman was allegedly grabbed and sexually assaulted in the Beltline Trail Park and another on June 30, when a woman was walking the Kay Gardner Beltline pathway when he allegedly grabbed her and sexually assaulted her.
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Towell was arrested after the June 30 assault and was held in custody pending his trial.
Police said that while he was in custody, further information connected the suspect to the three alleged assaults from May 2015. All of the victims ranged in age from 25 to 45 years of age.
Towell will appear in Toronto court via video on Aug. 20. Police believe there may be other victims but would not comment on evidence other than that it linked all of the cases together.
Anyone with information is asked to contact police at 416-808-8500, Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-TIPS (8477), online at www.222tips.com, text TOR and your message to CRIMES (274637).
A sexual assault is any form of unwanted sexual contact. It includes, but is not limited to, kissing, grabbing, oral sex and penetration.
To learn more about sexual assault, including how to report a sexual assault, please visit the Toronto Police Service’s Sex Crimes website.
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