A man suspected of sexual battery Monday night in the Henry Madden Library was arrested Tuesday night in Downtown Fresno, said Fresno State Police Chief David Huerta.

The sexual battery occurred about 8 p.m. when a man, identified by police as convicted sexual predator Fidel Isaac Tafoya, groped a woman in a public area of the library.

Fresno State police and state parole agents arrested Tafoya in Downtown Fresno about 7:30 p.m. Tuesday night.

Tafoya, who has been arrested several times at Fresno State under similar circumstances, has been convicted on three sexual assault charges.

“Mr. Tafoya has been contacted at Fresno State several times,” Huerta said. “In fact, the parole that he is on is a result from crimes he committed here.”

At about 7 p.m. Monday night, Tafoya allegedly cut off the GPS ankle monitor he was required to wear while on parole.

State parole agents and the Fresno Police Department responded to the removal of the monitor and searched for him until 9 p.m.

By 8 p.m. Tafoya had allegedly committed the act of sexual battery, which is described as unwanted touching of a sexual nature.

A verbal confrontation with the victim ensued and she eventually alerted library personnel.

Library security and Fresno State police searched the building, but the suspect was not found.

“We were able to identify Mr. Tafoya based on knowledge we had on him from prior contacts and a positive ID by the victim that it was Fidel Tafoya,” Huerta said.

This case is similar to one involving Tafoya on Nov. 12.

In that case, he was arrested after accusations from a female student that he touched her inappropriately in the library.

Police said the similarities in the cases have indicated that Tafoya has a modus operandi.

“He touches someone, and his M.O. is, ‘oh, I thought you were my girlfriend,’ or, ‘oh sorry, my friend Joan, I thought you were her,’” Huerta said. “Something like that, you know, so a number of times the women have just dismissed it and let it go.”