A man accused of sexually assaulting two young girls in separate Orange County incidents was arrested on Wednesday.

The suspect was identified as Christopher Eduard, 53, by the Irvine Police Department.

Eduard is accused of assaulting and exposing himself to a 9-year-old girl along with committing sexual battery against an 11-year-old girl in 2021.

On March 21, a 9-year-old girl and her mother were inside a public library in Irvine when Eduard allegedly approached the child, police said.

The girl was in the children’s section when authorities say Eduard asked the child to help him shoot a video. Eduard gave the girl his cell phone and held cue cards for her to read aloud. He then exposed himself to her and assaulted the child, police said. He fled the area before the police arrived.

The second incident happened on May 24, 2021, and involved Eduard allegedly groping an 11-year-old girl while she was shopping at a Target on 13200 Jamboree Road.

The girl was inside the store with her family when police say Eduard began following her. As she strolled into an aisle and became briefly separated from her family, Eduard allegedly approached her from behind and groped her, police said.

The girl ran away from Eduard and located her family before Eduard fled the store and drove away.

Using surveillance video, officers located Eduard’s vehicle, a green, 2019 model Kia Soul. He was tracked down and arrested at his L.A. home where a search warrant yielded additional “evidence linking him to the crime,” said police.

He was out on bail after the library incident when police took him into custody on March 21.

Detectives believe Eduard may be responsible for other crimes as the case remains under investigation.

Anyone with information about the suspect is asked to contact Detective Nate Ridlon at nridlon@cityofirvine.org.