LADYSMITH - An arrest on the prairies means relief tonight for Vancouver Islanders, with a suspected rapist now in custody.

Last night in Regina, 35 year-old Shaun Richard Funk was captured. He is a suspect in two sexual assaults - one in Ladysmith - the other in Squamish.  And he is a person of interest in two other assaults in Duncan and Qualicum Beach.

Police say the community can now rest a little easier.

"It had a very significant impact on the community and the level of safety people felt and they can rest a little easier tonight knowing we have this individual in custody and he no longer poses a threat to the community of Ladysmith and beyond." Said Cpl. Darren Lagan of the RCMP's Island District.

Now that funk is in custody, the RCMP hopes to track funk's whereabouts before he left the island.

"We still have some outstanding offenses here on Vancouver Island - the one in the Parksville area being one of them - we'll continue to examine whether he was involved in those - at this point we are not able to identify him as a suspect but he is a person of interest."