Rape Suspect May be Linked to 35 Sexual Assaults: Police

Updated: DEARBORN, MI — A suspected serial rapist charged in sexual assaults on women in Garden City and Redford Township may eventually be connected to at least 35 unsolved home invasion or sexual assault cases, including three in Dearborn, the city’s police chief, Ronald Haddad, said Monday in a news conference.

Haddad didn’t say how many of the cases, which date back to 2011, involved rape, but said a Michigan State Police lab analysis in November linked the suspect to all of the them.

“I can’t go into the other jurisdictions’ cases, nor will I give out evidentiary information,” he said. “But I will tell you there are 35 cases in our region that we suspect this person is responsible for. In the city of Dearborn, we have confirmed there are three cases that involve this individual.”

Ikeie Ranordo Smith, 32, of Redford Township, was charged Friday morning with three counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct and one count each of second-degree criminal sexual conduct and first-degree home invasion in connection with a home invasion and sexual assault in Garden City.

That afternoon, he was charged in 17th District Court in connection with two home invasions and sexual assaults against two women in Redford Township, the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office said.

The first case occurred in 2014, and Smith was charged with home invasion, criminal sexual conduct first degree and criminal sexual conduct second degree. The second case occurred in 2016, and Smith was charged with home invasion, armed robbery, criminal sexual conduct first degree and criminal sexual conduct second degree.

Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office spokeswoman Maria Miller said two additional arrest warrant requests for Smith were received Monday from Allen Park police. They will be processed Tuesday.

Previously on Patch

• ‘Stick a Fork in Him; He’s Done’: Mother of Suspected Serial Rapist
• Alleged Serial Rapist in Crimes Dating Back to 2011 Caught
• Crime Video: Help Police ID Home Invasion Person of Interest
• Dearborn Police Warn of Rapist Whose Crimes May Go Back a Decade

After Dearborn police closed several home invasion and larceny cases on July 15, a couple of cases that didn’t fit the pattern stood out, Haddad said. Police in multiple jurisdictions began working together after a Nov. 10, 2015, attack on a Garden City woman who was raped by an intruder while her husband slept in another room.

Investigators caught a break last month when Livonia police obtained video surveillance footage of a man in a homeowner’s backyard, and the task force identified him as a person of interest in a rash of home invasions and sexual assaults across multiple jurisdictions.

After receiving tips, Smith was identified as a suspect, and he was arrested Wednesday by Dearborn police after police got a tip about his identity on Tuesday, Haddad said at the news conference.

He said FBI behavior analysts have described Smith as “a power reassurance rapist,” that is an individual who experiences feelings of self-doubt and inadequacy with women, but generally does not harm them beyond the sexual assault.

“There’s no more power he holds over the people,” Haddad said. “I can assure you he will be in jail for a long time.”

Later, he added: “This particular nightmare that has plagued our community and region for a long time is over.”

Also speaking at the news conference were Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy, who said Smith’s arrest was the result of “incredible police work,” and Dearborn Mayor John B. O’Reilly Jr., who said that when victims’ families are considered, there are “potentially over 100 victims” over a seven-year period.

The serial rapist case illustrates the importance of multiple agencies working together to solve crimes, O’Reilly said.

“Crime doesn’t care about borders,” he said. “We have to make sure we’re supporting each other. We’re not in isolation. We’re all in this together.”

Watch the news conference below.

Feature image via Dearborn Police Department