A rapist who attacked at least seven women in 1990 and 1991 is back.
Salt Lake police believe the rapist, who has attacked mostly young girls throughout Salt Lake City's west side, has struck four times this summer after taking a 22-month hiatus.Investigators think the man likely left town since his last attack in June of 1991 and returned sometime before May 16, 1993, when he attacked a woman in Rose Park.
"It's hard to believe he was a good boy. He was somewhere else doing what he does," said Sgt. Ed Lyman. "Wherever he's been, he's been a predator of some sort."
The suspect attacked six victims in 1990, including two young teenagers and a 12-year-old girl who was riding a bicycle and delivering the Deseret News on Dec. 1. Each of the rapes occurred in the evening or early morning hours. But the rapist did not strike again until June 29, 1991.
Detectives speculated that the suspect may have been involved in the military, since the rapes stopped about the time Desert Storm began and no similar rapes were reported until the general time that the military movements ended.
"He must have been somewhere else doing something, whether it was in jail or in the military, we don't know," said detective Craig Park.
Now, 22 months later, the search continues for the man referred to as the Parkway Rapist or the West-Side Rapist who has attacked from the southern Glendale neighborhoods to northern Rose Park.
- The rapist's most recent attack occurred July 8 at 1555 W. 1000 North just before midnight. An 18-year-old woman was walking home after a fight with her boyfriend when a man grabbed her from behind and said, "I told you I'd get you later, but I've got you now."
The man dragged the woman into a small park and ripped her clothing, but ran off after hearing sounds in some nearby bushes, a Salt Lake police report states. The woman managed to scratch the man's inner arms and kick him before he fled.
- On June 23, a 16-year-old girl was raped near 400 South 1500 West. The girl was walking home from a convenience store about 12:30 a.m. and was attacked when she cut through a school yard. The man grabbed her from behind, pushed her against a wall, and raped her, saying, "You better cooperate or you'll go home bruised and bloody," a police report states.
- On June 13, police believe the same man attacked two girls, ages 9 and 13, near 1300 W. 600 North. The girls were walking home from a grocery store about 2 a.m. when a man came out of an alley and grabbed them from behind. The suspect told the girls not to scream or he would stab them.
The 13-year-old managed to punch the man in the stomach and ran off. The man yelled at her to come back or he'd stab her friend, but he instead released the younger girl and ran off.
- On May 16, a 60-year-old woman was raped near 1000 North 1200 West as she was walking home from the same grocery store. The woman was pulling a small grocery cart in the middle of the street about 2:15 a.m. when a man grabbed her from behind and dragged her behind some shrubbery at a nearby library.
The man then raped and sodomized the woman and took money from her clothing before he left.
Detectives say there are other elements of the crimes that link them to the same perpetrator. Each of the victims have described the suspect as being strong and fairly young. "They feel pretty helpless once he grabs them," Lyman said.
The rapist usually takes measures to prevent his victims from looking at him. Occasionally, he displays a knife.
The suspect is described as muscular, about 6 feet tall, in his mid- to late 20s, with olive-colored skin and brown hair. Salt Lake police have increased patrols in the areas where he has struck and have worked with community councils and neighborhood watch groups.
"Frankly, we're busting our buns this summer trying to bring this guy in," Lyman said. But investigators believe the man knows the neighborhoods well. "I believe he does a lot of just being out and watching," he said.
Lyman said officers have recently noticed "grundles" of young teenage girls roaming the streets late at night. In 1990, the department issued an unusual alert warning young women not to stay out late and not to allow themselves to become isolated in parks, alleys or fields that may be used as shortcuts.
Park said residents should not panic, but should definitely take such precautions against the rapist. "This is a situation that could easily be prevented," Park said, explaining that women should not be walking alone anywhere at night and should probably walk in groups of at least three.
Since the attack on the 12-year-old newspaper carrier, the Deseret News and the Newspaper Agency Corporation have offered a combined $1,000 reward for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the rapist. Citizens with information are urged to call detectives at 799-3403 during business hours.