A high-risk sex offender and person of interest in a recent assault of an elderly woman has been arrested on UBC campus, Vancouver police confirmed.

The attack occurred in the area of West 45th Avenue and Cambie Street in Oakridge, shortly before 10 p.m. on Thursday.

Vancouver police said an 86-year-old woman was dropped off at her home, walked to the rear of the building and entered. As she began to turn off the alarm system, a man approached her from behind and tried to force his way inside.

The alarm went off as the woman struggled, and the suspect ran away.

The senior was injured and had to be taken to hospital for treatment of a broken hand.

Jason Anthony White, a 45-year-old high-risk sex offender wanted Canada-wide, is considered a person of interest in the Oakridge assault.

Police say he was arrested at around 3:30 a.m. Saturday on the University of British Columbia campus but it's unclear why he was there.

Just hours earlier, thousands of students had attended a year-end block party on campus.

Const. Brian Montague says police did a preliminary search when he was arrested and brought a search and canvass team to the site later Saturday to do a more thorough job.

“Why he was at UBC will be part of the ongoing investigation,” he said in an email. “We will be having a close look at White's activity over the past few days, weeks and months.

“We will also continue to liaise and work with other jurisdictions to share any information that may assist them.”

The university's RCMP detachment did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The campus has seen a series of “night prowler” events where a man was seen lurking in bathrooms and bedrooms at UBC residences, and a sexual assault of a 20-year-old woman last month.

The description of the suspect in those incidents was of a man in his mid to late 20s with dark skin.

White, who also goes by the name of Jason Eugene Rindero, is a convicted high-risk sex offender and was serving a federal sentence.

Court documents show White has a lengthy criminal history, dating back decades.

He was convicted of more than 20 crimes as an adult, including a violent sexual assault and robbery of a 74-year-old woman in Nanaimo in February 1994.

White was deemed a dangerous offender for the assault, but eventually appealed it and was released on a long-term supervision order.

A Canada-wide warrant was issued after White breached the order.

With files from The Canadian Press