A 43-year-old Dundas man faces four indecent act charges after allegedly masturbating in plain view on a city bus.

Det. Sgt. Steve Hrab said a woman called police at about 10:50 p.m. on Dec. 27 to report that a man was engaged in an indecent act while they were riding on the bus.

Police responded and arrested the man as he tried to get off the bus. The charges were laid four days later.

Hrab said police are continuing their investigation because the accused is a potential suspect in “a spike” of incidents in the west end over the past few months involving a man who exposes himself to women and masturbates.

The charges came on the heels of an incident involving a male who exposed himself to a woman walking near Merricourt and Beaucourt roads – a block east of the Witney Plaza – shortly before 5 p.m. on Dec. 30.

In that case, the suspect is described as a Hispanic male in his late 20s or early 30s, between six feet and six feet two inches tall, with a medium build. He was wearing a black jacket with a hood up and black pants.

“We’d like to hear from anyone who has had that type of an incident and hopefully we can follow up and do the right thing,” he said.

“For whatever reason, a lot of people don’t bother calling the police about it. They just choose to ignore it.”

Anyone with information on similar incidents is asked to call Det. Jim O’Hara at 905-546-3816.