Toronto police have arrested a man they say has been vandalizing Epoch Times newspaper boxes since the spring, with some of the boxes filled with trash and smeared with feces.

A 50-year-old Toronto man has now been charged with mischief over $5,000, they said in news release Tuesday.

Police say they began investigating in March 2019.

It started with newspapers being stolen and display windows being damaged, they say. But the damage escalated over time.

All told, there were more than 100 incidents all over the Greater Toronto Area, say police.

The Epoch Times was founded by Falun Gong practitioners and on its website says it is the largest Chinese-language newspaper outside of Mainland China and Taiwan. It publishes in 17 languages around the world, and an English-language version prints weekly in Canada.

Police say the man is scheduled to appear in court Thursday.