By GAYLA CAWLEY
SWAMPSCOTT — Mounir Rhoulam, 39, of Swampscott, was arrested Monday in connection with several assaults that have taken place over the past month in the area of Beach Avenue and Essex Street.
At approximately 5:30 a.m., an officer saw Rhoulam walking on Columbia Street near the train station, which is in the area where several women have been assaulted by a man wearing hooded jackets or sweatshirts, according to Swampscott Police Sgt. Tim Cassidy.
During the reported assaults, the suspect was also reported as wearing various bandanas covering his face. Rhoulam was allegedly wearing a black and orange mask covering his face and a black and white checkered jacket. When police attempted to speak with Rhoulam, he fled on the train tracks toward Lynn, before he was caught and charged with disorderly conduct, trespassing and resisting arrest. He was also carrying a knife, Cassidy said.
After Rhoulam was arrested, police learned that he is a registered sex offender on probation, and is monitored by a GPS ankle bracelet. After contacting the suspect’s probation officer, police learned through the tracking device that he was in the area of five recent assaults in Swampscott and Lynn, Cassidy said.
A search warrant was conducted at Rhoulam’s address at 12 Hillside Ave. His probation was violated on Monday at Lynn District Court and he will be additionally charged, Cassidy said.
Swampscott police are investigating three assaults in the area. One occurred on Dec. 7, when a woman told police she was knocked to the ground by a man wearing a dark colored hooded sweatshirt, work boots and a bandana covering his face. On Jan. 4, a woman told police she was walking her dog when a man walked up to her and grabbed her buttocks. Swampscott police are also investigating a Jan. 7 incident in which details were not provided.
Lynn police are investigating two incidents this month including one from Jan. 5, where a woman also reported being grabbed by a man in a hooded sweatshirt.
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Gayla Cawley can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @GaylaCawley