After Windham police received an anonymous tip, a man suspected of assaulting female yoga and fitness instructors has been caught.

Eric Henson, 31, of 116 Barretts Hill Road, Hudson, was arraigned on three charges of simple assault in Salem District Court on Tuesday, July 22.

Henson admitted to placing the feet of his female victims against his groin while they demonstrated a stretching movement. He told them he was a karate instructor looking to open a business in town, police said.

All three Windham assaults took place in the neighboring Commons and Village Green plazas on Route 111.

Windham police Sgt. Michael Caron said Henson admitted to the alleged Windham acts during questioning, adding Henson is suspected of similar crimes on about a dozen other occasions in other New Hampshire towns as well as in his former town of Wakefield, Mass.

“I think this individual certainly has a problem that needs to be addressed,” Caron said after Henson’s arraignment.

Caron said Henson moved to town on or around Friday, June 27. The first assault was Tuesday, July 1, at the Windham Pilates and Wellness Center at Village Green.

In that incident, the pilates instructor was showing Henson some moves after he entered the studio and said he wanted to learn some exercises to speed up his recovery from an injury. She pulled away and confronted Henson verbally, and he left.

The next two assaults were on Thursday, July 17, at The Commons Plaza at approximately 5:30 p.m. Police responded to a call from a woman in the parking lot who said a man had approached her and said he was a karate teacher and wanted to show her a move. According to a police affidavit, Henson also told her she had nice legs and feet.

Henson allegedly said he had to grab her leg and foot to do it. He then placed her foot against his crotch, according to police.

While police were dealing with that call, another woman who works at Yoga Sanctuary in the same plaza told officers that a man with a similar description had entered the studio and asked for massage advice. Flynn demonstrated the massage, and Henson allegedly took her foot and put it against his crotch.

Caron said an anonymous caller told police the culprit was Henson. Investigators were able to reach Henson through his work cell phone around noon on Monday, July 21, and asked him to come to the station for an interview.

Henson came to the station about an hour and a half later, and admitted to committing the Windham assaults in addition to nine to 15 others in other New Hampshire and Massachusetts towns.

“(Henson) claimed he would use the same ‘stretching’ routine to get women close to him. He stated that he has a foot fetish and that it has become a problem.

He admitted that this all started about two to three years ago, but it has been an issue for about year,” the affidavit said.

Caron said Henson admitted to having a problem, and seemed remorseful towards the end of the interview.

Although Henson is suspected of many more similar crimes, most of the victims did not inform their local law enforcement agencies, Caron said.

Windham police do know of one similar incident that took place in a public park in Wakefield, Mass.

Salem District Court Judge John Korbey set Henson’s bail at $25,000 cash or surety. Prosecutors at the arraignment argued Henson had close ties to Massachusetts and was a flight risk.