Hamilton police are investigating after a woman was sexually assaulted in the Lime Ridge Mall parking lot Monday evening.

Shortly after 7 p.m., the woman was walking through the parking lot when she was approached by an unknown man who tried to engage her in a conversation. When the woman attempted to get away, the man sexually assaulted her.

Police describe the suspect as Middle Eastern, about 40 years old, roughly five-foot-six, with short hair and balding on top. He was wearing shorts, a t-shirt and was carrying a white plastic bag. The man also had a “slight accent.”

The suspect vehicle is described as a red, late model passenger vehicle.

Investigators believe that there may have been people in the area who witnessed the attack and are asking anyone with information about this incident to contact Detective Joanne Cain of the Sexual Assault Unit at 905-546-8958 or Crime Stoppers.

Last month, a similar incident happened in the parking lot of Lime Ridge Mall.

On April 3, a 27-year-old woman was walking alone in the parking lot around 8:30 p.m. when she was approached by a man. The man tried to engage the woman in a conversation by asking for her phone number. Police say as the woman tried to walk away, she was sexually assaulted.

The suspect in that assault was described as a black male, in his mind to late 30s, six-foot-two, with a very thin build and shaved black hair.