A High Park school community is in shock as it deals with the assault of one of its seven-year-old students on school grounds.

A teacher and a school bus driver wrestled a man to the ground after an alleged attack on a young girl at High Park Montessori School Tuesday afternoon.

Police have arrested Nicholas Finelli, 42, who is charged in connection with two other separate assaults. A publication ban forbids reporting on the evidence.

Det. Christine Long said police are seeking the public's assistance for any information relating to Finelli's activities from Monday to Tuesday of this week.

"We would like to know all of his activities in that 48-hour period," Long told a press conference.

Meanwhile, panic and fear has spread among parents whose children attend the Montessori school.

"Very surprised what happened here, very surprised because it's a very tight-knit community, it's a very tight school," said one man.

"It's a pretty good school ... but I think with some things, we can prevent (them)," said one woman.

Psychologists and counsellors were brought in to the Berl Avenue school Wednesday to help deal with the trauma.

The school's owner, Brent Lisowski, said the doors are locked until 3:15 p.m., when the rear door is opened when children are let out for the day.

"For 50 years, it's been safe,'' Lisowski said. "One day, one minute, somebody sneaks in the back door. It's unlocked for a very, very brief period of time.''

"I don't know what we could do more. There are so many people around the school at that time of day.''

Lisowski said a teacher will now be assigned to guard the area until children board buses or are picked up.

"We're discussing with the detectives and with the school board security what they think we should do to make this place, that is safe, a safer place," he told reporters.

Parents were notified about the incident and a closed-door meeting was called for Wednesday night.

Ontario's education minister is urging private schools to mirror security improvements made in the public system.

Kathleen Wynne said safety codes are the same for all buildings in the province, but the ministry does not inspect private elementary schools.

With a report by CTV's John Musselman