Police in Toronto are warning the public about a man they believe is responsible for a rash of violent sexual assaults near York University Heights in October and December.

The most recent incidents unfolded within 15 minutes of one another on Thursday night.

At around 9:10 p.m., a woman was walking home from Finch West Station when she was violently attacked by an unknown male near Four Winds Drive.

“The female was knocked to the ground unconscious. When she regained consciousness, the male forced her into a secluded pathway within the complex and sexually assaulted her,” Toronto police Insp. Domenic Sinopoli said.

The victim was eventually able to flee the suspect.

Minutes later, a 20-year-old female was leaving a building on Four Winds Drive when she spotted a man loitering in the area.

Sinopoli said the suspect followed her, approached her and threatened her with a knife, demanding she hand over her cellphone.

The woman was allegedly sexually assaulted before the male fled the area.

One day earlier, near Fountainhead Park, police received a report of a similar incident.

A 22-year-old woman told police she was walking along a path on the north side of Finch Avenue West, approaching the park, when a man unknown to her grabbed her and held a knife to her throat.

It’s alleged the man threatened and sexually assaulted her before she was able to get away.

Two months earlier, on Oct. 24, a woman reported being grabbed and sexually assaulted by an unknown man while walking home near Murray Ross Parkway and Sentinel Road.

The 20-year-old told police she had to fight off her attacker in order to escape.

On Oct. 31, another woman reported a similar incident in the Cook Road and Sentinel Road area.

The 22-year-old woman told police she was grabbed from behind by a man who allegedly sexually assaulted her.

She was able to break free, police said, and the man fled the area.

Police believe the same man responsible for the four aforementioned attacks is also behind a robbery on Dec. 10. A woman reported she was sitting on a park bench near tennis courts on Sentinel Road on her phone when the suspect approached her and struck up a conversation with her.

Though he eventually left the woman, police allege he returned a short time later, this time ambushing her from behind.

Sinopoli said a struggle ensued and the suspect made off with the woman’s purse.

“There are many dimly lit paths and laneways in that area, including the Finch Hydro Corridor Recreational Trail,” Sinopoli said. “We are encouraging members of the public to remain vigilant, to be aware of their surroundings. People will often be distracted by their phones or could be listening to music as they walk along and may not hear someone approaching them from behind.”

On Friday, police released surveillance camera footage of a suspect they believe is responsible for all five attacks. A composite sketch made after the Oct. 24 occurrence was also rereleased.

The suspect is described as a black man who is between 18 and 25 years old, five-foot-eight and five-foot-ten inches tall, with a clean shaven face, short black hair, thick lips and a slim build.

In many of the cases, the suspect was reportedly wearing a hooded sweatshirt or jacket and dark or camouflage patterned pants.

As the incidents occurred just south of York University campus, police are cooperating with security there in their investigation. It is not known if the victims or suspect are connected to the school.

“We have a predator on the loose who is attacking women from behind,” Sinopoli said.

“I don’t know what his motive is, considering that some of these occurrences may start with a robbery and finish with a sexual assault or vice versa.”

Police have devoted “full resources” to the investigation, Sinopoli said, and are actively searching for anyone who may have had any kind of encounter with the suspect over the last few months in the area or otherwise.

He said police are particularly concerned because they believe the violence has escalated with each case.

“We are very concerned about the escalating nature of these occurrences, and we are appealing to the community and businesses in the area for information and or any video that they think may be of some assistance,” he said.

Anyone with information is being asked to call Toronto police or Crime Stoppers anonymously.