A man has been arrested in connection with the sexual assault of two teens inside Scarborough Town Centre mall this summer, Toronto police said Thursday.

Officers were called to the mall Tuesday after reports that a 19-year-old man was approached by an unknown man who sexually assaulted him and fled the scene, police said in a Thursday news release. Police said the teen was walking in the mall when the alleged assault happened.

A month earlier, police said officers had also responded to a similar incident on July 29 in which a 16-year-old boy was walking inside the mall when he was approached by a man unknown to him who sexually assaulted him.

Police said they believe the same man was responsible for both incidents.

Both incidents occurred in the evening — the one on Tuesday around 3:45 p.m. and the one in July at roughly 5 p.m., according to police.

Police released security camera images of the suspect Wednesday and arrested him later in the day.

In the news release, police thanked the public for helping locate the man.

Tips from the public are vital in locating suspects in such cases, police spokesperson Const. Caroline de Kloet told the Star.

“We’ve had multiple cases, several very recent ones I can remember, where we’ve been able to find suspects mostly because people called us,” de Kloet said.

“It’s so important. That’s why we make information public in the first place.”

Rayyaz Gohar, 53, of Toronto, has been arrested and is facing two counts of sexual assault. He is scheduled to appear in court Thursday.

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