Serial Rape Suspect Arrested in Los Angeles

LOS ANGELES, CA — A man suspected of raping more than a dozen women is in Los Angeles Police custody, according to reports.

The Los Angeles Police Department is expected to release details of the arrest at a Wednesday afternoon press conference. In the meantime, the Los Angeles Times, citing police sources, reported that the arrest involves a man suspected of raping at least a dozen women working as prostitutes.

In December, warned the community of a serial rapist active in the South LA area since January of 2014. The armed attacker

"The suspect approaches females that are involved in prostitution activity, has a conversation with them, gets them in (his) vehicle, and then at gunpoint takes them to a remote area of the county near south Los Angeles, where he sexually assaults them, and then releases them," Los Angeles police Capt. William Hayes said at the time.

The victims range in age from 15 to 46 years old, Hayes said. The abductions have occurred in the Alameda Corridor area, Hayes said. The corridor is a 20-mile-long rail cargo expressway linking the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles to the rail network near downtown Los Angeles, according to the Alameda Corridor Transportation Authority.

Hayes said the man was linked by investigators to three cases via DNA evidence, and to the other cases based on his method of operation and other undisclosed reasons.

The LAPD investigation began with a sexual assault in May of this year in the LAPD 77th Street Station's jurisdiction in south Los Angeles, Hayes said.

DNA evidence was obtained from that victim that led investigators to a DNA match in a sexual assault case in sheriff's jurisdiction in January of 2014.

A third case also was linked via DNA to the same suspect, Hayes said. Investigators compared those cases and others, and developed a pattern to the crimes, Hayes said.

City News Service contributed to this report. Photo: Shutterstock