Man charged in connection with multiple assaults near Toronto’s High Park

Toronto police say a 37-year-old man is facing several charges in connection with multiple assaults near High Park.

Police first issued a news release on July 23, saying they had received reports of two assaults in the area of Roncesvalles and Howard Park avenues — one on July 20 and another the day after. In the first incident, a man reportedly approached a 36-year-old woman and threw a soda at her before fleeing the area.

Officers said on July 21, a man approached a 33-year-old woman from behind and assaulted her before fleeing.

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Investigators issued a second release on July 24 detailing four additional alleged assaults in the same area — three against women and one man.

The earliest reported incident was on May 13. In each of the cases, a man is reported to have approached a victim and assaulted them.

In an update released Friday evening, police said Driss Zahri was arrested earlier in the day and charged with two counts of assault with a weapon, four counts of assault, six counts of failure to comply with a recognizance and six counts of failure to comply with probation.

He was scheduled to appear in a Toronto court Saturday morning.

Meanwhile, anyone with information was asked to call police at 416-808-1100 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-8477.