The man behind a string of recent sexual assaults on the University of British Columbia campus is likely planning out his attacks carefully, according to a forensic behavioural specialist.

Six sexual assaults have been reported on campus dating back to spring, and each one has involved a woman walking alone, usually late at night.

Based on what he knows about the attacks, retired RCMP Staff-Sergeant and profiler Dr. Matt Logan said there’s a good chance the suspect is plotting each one in advance.

“Very seldom do we see this type of crime where it’s opportunistic,” he said. “This is someone who fantasizes a lot of their day. This is someone who is actually deep in fantasy and is now enacting the fantasy. This isn’t opportunistic – this is someone who actually plans these attacks.”

Logan said he isn't actively working on the UBC case, but has been in touch with the investigators involved.

The latest attack happened Sunday night when a female victim was walking alone shortly before 1:30 a.m. and was grabbed from behind after seeing “a shadow” following her. In another case, a victim had her stockings ripped and was punched in the face before she was able to get away from her assailant.

In most of the attacks, the suspect ran away after the victims screamed for help and struggled.

The attacks have sparked increased safety measures campus-wide such as a safe-walk program, and has also led to what the university’s president called an “unprecedented” police presence at UBC.

Logan said though the attacks are disturbing, they may not be getting increasingly violent.

“Maybe their entire fantasy is all about being able to find someone alone and vulnerable, and actually reach up a blouse, a skirt, down a pair of pants. That could be the fantasy by itself,” he said.

In addition to the suspect description, police are probably looking for a person who has “acted strangely” within the time period of the attacks, according to Logan. He urged anybody who has noticed somebody acting strangely or aggressively approaching women to contact police.

The suspect in all of the cases is described as a tall, thin Caucasian man with a tan or olive skin tone. He was wearing jeans and a black hooded sweatshirt. It is believed he is in his mid-20s to early 30s.

While six of the sexual assaults have come to light, Logan said there could be many more that have gone unreported.

“I don’t want to alarm the public, but we have a reporting rate in Canada of sexual offenses that sits around 14 low, and 29 high. In other words, there’s only about 20 per cent of these crimes that’re actually reported,” he said. “My feeling is that there’s a number of other victims out there…that need to come forward in order for this person to get caught.”

Anyone with information about the assaults is asked to call police at 604-224-1322 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.