A 34-year-old man from Lambeth was arrested on Thursday in connection with eight separate sexual assaults in the Clapham and Brixton Hill areas, the Metropolitan police announced on Friday.
The suspect remains in custody at a south London police station. Police are still appealing for witnesses and information in relation to the incidents, and have urged women to remain vigilant and to report anyone acting suspiciously.
Police previously released CCTV footage of a man who they said may have a connection with the string of eight sexual assaults.
In a statement, Rob Applegarth, superintendent of Lambeth borough, said: "We are aware of eight assaults which we are linking at this early stage. We have increased police patrols in Clapham and Brixton Hill and urge women to think of their personal safety.
"We are also releasing CCTV and an image of a man we would now like to speak to in connection with these incidents."
Officers believe the first incident took place on Friday 9 October around midnight, in which a 23-year-old woman was grabbed and sexually assaulted along Clitheroe Road in Clapham. The woman managed to raise the alarm, after which the suspect ran off, police said.
The second incident took place during the early hours of Saturday 10 October along Deauville Court. A 30-year-old woman told police that a man had tried to make conversation with her, but when she asked him to leave he grabbed and assaulted her before leaving the scene.
The third incident took place on Thursday 22 October. A 32-year-old woman told police that she was followed down Trent Road before a man placed his hand up her dress.
A few days later, on Monday 26 October, a 35-year-old woman reported that she was grabbed from behind as she walked home along Arodene Road. Less than an hour later, CCTV footage showed a man near Rosebery Road attempting to enter the home of a woman in her twenties, police said. On the same night a 28-year-old woman told police that a man standing on the opposite side of Sandmere Road had deliberately pulled down his lower clothing to expose himself.
On Wednesday 28 October a woman reported that she had been approaching her home along Southwell Road when a man grabbed her, and she screamed before the alleged attacker ran away. On the same evening a 31-year-old woman told police that she was on her way home when she was pushed into a nearby block of flats on Sudbourne Road. The woman says she was sexually assaulted before the suspect fled the scene.
All victims have been white women in their early twenties and thirties, police said. In an earlier statement Detective Sergeant Gordon Barclay, who is leading the investigation, said:
"Lambeth police would like to advise women to remain vigilant when travelling at night and would also ask that anybody who may have any information regarding these offences to make contact with police.
"The CCTV and the still are of good quality and we are confident that someone will be able to identify this particular man. I urge anyone with any information about these incidents to call us urgently."