VANCOUVER Police on Friday released surveillance photos of a person of interest in a pair of sexual assaults where a man wearing a surgical mask groped two women in East Vancouver. Police are asking for the public’s help to identify him.

The first incident happened just after 10 p.m. on October 29 after the woman got off a transit bus near East 64th Avenue and Victoria Drive. A man wearing a surgical mask grabbed her from behind. He indicated he had a weapon, and repeatedly groped her before running away.

The second incident took place on November 19 around 9 p.m., minutes after a woman got off the SkyTrain at the Nanaimo Station. She was walking on Nanaimo Street near Kingsway when she was grabbed from behind and groped before the masked assailant ran off.

The suspect has been described as Asian, 20 to 30 years old, approximately 5’8” tall, with a slim build, short dark hair, and dark-rimmed glasses, and wearing a surgical mask over his face at the time of the attacks.

Detectives from the VPD’s Sex Crimes Unit have obtained a photograph of the person of interest in this investigation, but have been unable to identify him. They are now asking for the public’s assistance.

Anyone with information about the man in the photo, or information about these incidents, is asked to call investigators at 604-717-0604, or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.