Police are renewing a public safety alert after a ten-year-old girl was assaulted in Scarborough’s Malvern neighbourhood, where a number of similar incidents have occurred over recent weeks.

The latest incident occurred on Tuesday.

A 10-year-old girl told police that she was walking through a trail near McLevin Avenue and Malvern Street when she was approached by a man and assaulted.

The girl said she was able to kick the man and run away.

The suspect is believed to be a brown man who was wearing all-black clothing at the time. Police say he also had his face covered.

This is the fourth incident where children were approached by an unknown man in the Scarborough neighbourhood over the last two months but police tell CP24 that they don’t believe the cases are related.

"At this point, I did speak with investigators and there is no indication that these are in fact linked," Const. Allyson Douglas-Cook told CP24.

"However, that does not minimize the importance of speaking to your kids to advise them of what to do in these situations."

Back on Feb 10., police say two 9-year-old boys were walking near Burrows Hall Boulevard and Purvis Crescent when a vehicle pulled up alongside them.

The boys told police that the male driver asked them to get in his car but drove off when the boys started to run away.

A second incident happened in the same area on March 7.

According to police, two 10-year-old boys and a five-year-old girl were walking together in the area when an unknown man in a vehicle pulled up near them and offered them a ride.

The children told police that they refused the ride but the man persisted. Police say the children then ran away.

The suspected in these two incidents is described as a brown man who is between 35 and 45 years old with reading glasses. Police believe he may have been wearing a Blue Jays shirt and hat during one of the occurrences.

The third incident happened three days later, on March 10, near Mammoth Hall Trail and Malvern Street at around 3:25 p.m.

This time, police say a 10-year-old girl was walking home from Malvern Junior Public School when a suspect wearing a ski mask got out of a dark-grey or black sedan parked nearby and ran towards her.

Police say the girl ran back inside the school and told a staff member about the incident. The school then contacted police.

The suspect in this incident was described as standing between five-foot-eight to six-foot-one with a medium build. He was last seen wearing black clothing, a ski mask and sunglasses.

Police advise that children always keep their parents or an adult informed of their whereabouts and to follow a buddy system.

“If they see anything suspicious or feel uncomfortable in a situation involving an adult who is unknown to them, they should notify their parents or a teacher,” Douglas-Cook said.

In a letter sent to parents of children at Malvern Junior Public School, and obtained by CP24, principal Thelma Sambrook urged parents to review safety precautions with their kids.

“The safety of our students is always a top priority. We are fortunate to have a number of initiatives, programs, policies that contribute to a caring and safe school,” Sambrook wrote in the letter, dated March 22.

“However, most incidents happen away from school and outside of school hours. I want to emphasize to all our students, staff, and parents the need to be aware and alert at all times, no matter where you are and even in the most ordinary everyday routines.”

Sambrook told parents that school staff have been notified separately of the incidents and have already reviewed safety measures with students.

Investigators have assigned a team to look into the situation and investigate the Malvern area in general.

Anyone with information about any of these incidents is being asked to call police or Crime Stoppers.