A serial rapist who attacked three trick-or-treaters on Halloween has been linked by DNA to 13 other sexual assaults around D.C. and up and down the Eastern Seaboard, authorities said.
Police said the rapes took place over a span of nearly 13 years and were spread out from Northern Virginia to Rhode Island. Authorities from four states and the FBI are now asking the public to provide information to bring the serial rapist to justice.
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The most recent rapes occurred Halloween night in Dale City near Glendale Plaza, police said. Three teenage girls were trick-or-treating in the 4300 block of Dale Boulevard when the man approached them with a handgun. He forced two 17-year-old girls to the ground and raped them while a 16-year-old was forced to watch, police said.
The rapist is described as a black male of medium build, in his 30s or 40s. The rapes occurred in Northern Virginia, Prince George’s County, Connecticut and Rhode Island.
Police believe the man spent a considerable amount of time in or lived in those areas.
Authorities are asking residents to consider whether they know someone who fits the description or who may have lived in or spent time in the areas where the attacks occurred.
“People who may know the offender may not think that he is capable of committing these crimes,” said Sgt. Kim Chinn, of the Prince William County Police Department. “Any information may be helpful in identifying or eliminating potential suspects.”
At least 11 attacks happened in the Greater Washington area. In nearly each case, the victims were walking when the man showed up with a knife or gun. The targets ranged in age from teenagers to women in their early 50s. They were black, white and Hispanic.
The attacks began in February 1997 in Forestville when the man approached and raped a woman walking home on the 6800 block of Marlboro Pike Road.
The next three attacks were in Suitland in 1997, Temple Hills in 1999 and then Alexandria in 1999. In 2000, he struck again in Alexandria, then Hyattsville and back to Alexandria.
In 2001, he broke into a Leesburg home, threatened a 41-year-old woman with a screwdriver and raped her. He hit twice more that year, back in Temple Hills and Alexandria.
Five years later, he was seen breaking into homes in Cranston, R.I., and New Haven, Conn.
Anyone with information can call police at 866-411-TIPS.
