Waterloo Regional Police say a 32-year-old man from Milton has been arrested in connection with the reported sexual assaults of three children between the 2013 and this past July.
Police say Timi Gusak has been charged with three counts of sexual assault and three counts of sexual interference.
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Gusak was arrested at a Milton residence on Thursday and appeared in court on Friday.
At a press conference at police headquarters, Insp. Mark Crowell did not provide many details about the suspect.
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“I can tell you that the male who has been arrested resided in Waterloo Region during the time of the 2013 and 2017 incidents,” he explained. “During the 2019 instance, he resided outside of our region in Milton.”
On July 6, police say a four-year-old girl was playing in the common area of an apartment building at 16 Brybeck Cres. when she was approached by an unknown male and sexually assaulted.
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In the other cases, which occurred in 2017 and 2013, police say girls were sexually assaulted in stairwells at apartment buildings on Patricia Avenue in Kitchener and Barrie Street in Waterloo.
Police announced on July 17, that the most recent assault had been linked by DNA with the two other incidents.
Crowell alleged that the suspect in custody had been linked by DNA to all three incidents.
“DNA analysis completed by the Center of Forensic Sciences has linked these three incidents to one suspect, the male we have arrested,” Crowell said.
Following the arrests, Crowell said the first people police contacted were the families of the victims.
READ MORE: 4-year-old girl sexually assaulted in Kitchener apartment building, police say
“I can say that they are relieved and certainly emotional with the news,” he explained. “And we’re also just pleased to provide this information to the public. We know that there’s been community members on edge.”
Crowell says that the investigation is not over yet but will now enter into a different stage.
“Really, this in many senses, is the beginning of a new phase of the investigation where we now can hone in on this individual,” he said.
He believes once the suspect’s name surfaces to the public, more people may come forward to offer information about the suspect.
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“I think members of the community will be able to provide us with additional information regarding this individual and we’ll continue to explore and investigate those linkages and movements over the years,” Crowell said.
Police have not ruled out the possibility that there may be more victims since the crimes happened over such a long timeframe.
“We never rule anything out, and given that these are sexual assaults, especially involving children, some additional vulnerabilities are there,” he said.
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