Giovanni D'Amico, 41, was arrested at his home on Wednesday and appeared briefly in court Thursday in Montreal where he faced 11 counts, including aggravated sexual assault, uttering threats and assault against four women.

The alleged incidents took place in Montreal's east end and Verdun between 2002 and 2007 in the businessman's car after he refused to pay the women, police said.

He allegedly assaulted the women after they got into his car, injuring some of them, said Const. Olivier Lapointe.

Police said they hope more women will come forward in the case.

All the women "are street workers, and it's very hard for them to come forward to the police, and explain that they were victims of a sexual assault or other kinds of violent crimes," Lapointe told CBC News.

"It's hard to get the trust of the sex workers because they might think that we won't consider them as victims, which is not true at all.

"But for police, a victim is a victim, and it doesn't matter what they are doing."

Lapointe said police are consulting with community outreach groups in an effort to track down any other women.

D'Amico will remain in police custody until he returns to court for a bail hearing on Friday.

With files from the Canadian Press

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