Sex Offender Rapes Woman At Knifepoint Near Puyallup: PCSO

PUYALLUP, WA - A sex offender who moved to the Puyallup area from Florida in August was arrested last week, accused of raping a woman he met online. The Pierce County Sheriff's Office believes he may have raped other women recently in the same area of unincorporated Pierce County west of South Hill.

There have been a series of sexual assaults in the county recently in the vicinity of 128th Street and Canyon Road, according to police. Early in the morning last Thursday, a woman called police to report that she had been raped on the porch of a home along the 5700 block of 128th Street East. The suspect held a knife to the victim's throat as he carried out the attack.

While police were investigating the crime scene, another woman walked up and reported that she had been raped on the same porch. In that attack, the suspect held a butcher knife to the woman, cutting her hands as she tried to escape.

Using the sex offender registry and a description from the first victim, detectives were able to match the suspect to a known sex offender living near where the crimes happened. The suspect had a prior conviction for sexual battery with a weapon from 2011, according to police.

"We are asking anyone who has been lured, assaulted, or raped under similar circumstances since August 2018 to please contact our detectives," the sheriff's office wrote in a bulletin about the attacks.

The 24-year-old is being held in jail on a charge of first-degree rape.

Contact the PCSO at (253) 798-7530.

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