A suspect has been arrested in the sexual assault of a student near the St. Catherine University campus in Minneapolis last week.

The 48-year-old man is being held on suspicion of first-degree criminal sexual conduct in the attack on a woman in her 20s near West River Parkway and 27th Avenue S., not far from the Mississippi River, early Nov. 19.

According to Minneapolis police:

The arrest of the man, who has yet to be charged, came after security officers at Regions Hospital in St. Paul received a complaint Tuesday that a suspicious man was approaching women near the parking area.

The man was detained, and Ramsey County deputies helped identify him. One of the deputies remembered a composite sketch that was released to the news media that day.

He "bore a striking resemblance to the sketch," police said in a statement.

A Minneapolis police sergeant interviewed the man before he was booked into the Hennepin County jail Thursday morning.

"It shows that sending out a bulletin does help and bad guys do get arrested," said Randy Gustafson, spokesman for the Ramsey County Sheriff's Office.

The suspect's criminal history in Minnesota includes convictions for theft and domestic abuse.

PAUL WALSH