An unemployed 44-year-old man from Sydney's southwest has been charged with 19 child sex offences dating back from a quarter of a century ago.
The Sex Crime squad made the arrest on Monday after DNA evidence, which surfaced in 2011, identified a link between the man and all five sexual assaults.
Police will allege the man was 19 when he abducted a nine-year-old girl off a Bankstown street in 1989, dragged her to an empty lot and raped her.
He carried out attacks on at least four other girls, aged between 10 and 17, over the next two years across Sydney suburbs Bankstown, Punchbowl, South Strathfield and Artarmon, police say.
Police will allege the man carried a knife during his attacks and would approach the victim from behind, overpower them and take them to an isolated location where he then sexually assaulted them.
Detective Superintendent Linda Howlett described the crimes as random and terrifying.
"They were horrific crimes, the victims were very young in age when they were sexually assaulted," she said.
She said she hoped that the arrest would bring some relief and closure to the victims and urged other victims of sexual assault to come forward to police.
The accused man is due to appear at Burwood Local Court on Tuesday.
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