A suspect has been arrested and charged in connection with a series of sexual assaults that took place on a Deux-Montagnes bike path between 2012 and 2017.

Patrick Deschenes, 41, was arrested in Saint-Eustache Thursday evening, after an investigation into an attack on August 21 led authorities to his home.

After the assault on the 21st, forensic investigators were able to obtain crucial evidence leading them to the perpetrator, who they describe as a serial aggressor—a “predator,” said Christopher Harding, spokesperson for the Deux-Montagnes police.

Police were later able to connect Deschenes to three other open assault cases through victim and witness testimonies – they say the perpetrator operated with the same M.O. during each attack.

In three cases, women between the ages of 16 and 25 were attacked while walking, rollerblading, or cycling on a bike path in the evening.

Deschenes allegedly pursued the women on a bicycle before physically attacking—grabbing his victims and pulling them into the woods before assaulting them.

“This individual would take advantage of the situation, being a dark area at nighttime, where there’s less traffic—less people walking on the bicycle path,” Harding explained.

The bike path, which stretches on to connect Sainte-Marthe-sur-le-Lac with Deux Montagnes and Saint-Eustache, is often used by people who are walking to and from the Deux-Montagnes train station.

In one case, it is alleged that he entered a residence to assault the victim, a 67-year-old woman.

Arraigned in the Saint-Jerome courthouse on Thursday, Deschenes was formally charged with four counts of sexual assault, three charges of forcible confinement, and one charge of breaking and entering.

They say that Deschenes is known to their services and has a history of sexual transgressions.

However, Harding would not confirm whether Deschenes was identified with the help of sex offenders registry or a DNA database—he would only say that investigators “left no stone unturned” in their pursuit.

“We do believe that there may be a number of different victims who have not come forward and spoken to us—who maybe did not get physically aggressed at that time, but were followed by this individual,” Harding told CTV Montreal.

Deux-Montagnes police are appealing to other potential victims to come forward and contact investigators at 450-473-4686 ext. 218.