Gardaí in Waterford are investigating the fifth indecent assault on a woman in the city within a month.
The latest incident occurred at around 2.45 a.m. yesterday in the Poleberry area.
A young woman was walking across Wyse Bridge at Poleberry when she was accosted by a lone male. The attacker knocked his terrified victim to the ground and indecently assaulted her.
Following her ordeal, the young woman was taken to Waterford Regional Hospital where she was treated for shock and minor injuries to her face and arms.
The culprit is described as being between 20 and 30 years of age, 5 ft 10 ins to 6 ft in height and of medium build. He was wearing a dark-coloured cardigan with a ribbed pattern on the front and a shirt underneath. The victim of the assault described her attacker as "well dressed".
The latest incident bears a marked resemblance to the previous attacks during which a lone male approached women from behind and knocked them to the ground before assaulting them.
The first such assault took place during daylight hours on March 28th close to Reginald's Tower in the city while the second, also in the morning, occurred in early April at the nearby Scotch Quay.
The third attack occurred at the opposite end of the Quays, at Dyehouse Lane, during the early afternoon of April 11th.
The fourth incident happened on April 13th in the Ballytruckle area of the city and as with the latest attack, it occurred in the early hours of the morning as the woman walked home alone after a night out.
While gardaí say they have noticed common elements to all five assaults, they have still not ruled out the possibility that these attacks are the work of more than one man.
"They all have similar type patterns but there are similarities between a lot of the assaults and I cannot say that all of them have been committed by the same man or are connected fully. However, we are looking at similarities between the incidents," said Sgt Padraig Dunne.
"We would appeal to taxi- drivers that were working in and around the city centre area in the early hours of Tuesday, or people going home or living in the Poleberry area that may have seen something they consider suspicious to come forward.
"We can be contacted at 051-874888 and all calls will be dealt with in the strictest of confidence."
Sgt Dunne also warned women to take care and not to walk home alone after a night out.