$100K Reward Offered for LA Serial Rapist

Police today renewed a call for public help in finding a suspect linked to 35 sexual assaults since 1996 in South Los Angeles, the last of which occurred in 2012.

Detectives from the Los Angeles Police Department’s special assault section within the Robbery-Homicide Division said they have followed up on hundreds of leads in an area near the border of South Los Angeles and an area patrolled by the sheriff’s department.

A $100,000 reward is being offered for information that leads to the identity, arrest and prosecution of the suspect.

Typically, the suspect approached females alone on their way to school or work or waiting at a bus stop between the hours of 5:15 a.m. and 8 a.m. He talked to his victims, then pulled out a handgun or knife and sexually assaulted them after forcing them to go elsewhere out of public view.

He’s described as Hispanic with a light complexion, 40 to 55 years old, between 5 feet 2 and 5 feet 6 inches tall and weighing between 130 and 170 pounds.

He had a teardrop tattoo that he may have had removed, leaving scarring below one of his eyes, and a mustache, and typically wore a gray or dark hooded sweatshirt, bandana, black baseball cap or dark-colored beanie.

The $100,000 reward is being offered by the city of Los Angeles and the FBI.

Anyone with information was asked to call the LAPD’s 24-hour toll-free tip line at (877) 527-3247. Tips can also be sent to www.laponline.org by clicking on “Anonymous Web Tips.”

• City News Service