Police Still Hunting for 'East Coast Rapist' After 13 Years

(March 16) -- Police in four states are hunting for an elusive serial rapist who they say is responsible for at least a dozen rapes over the past 13 years.

Dubbed the "East Coast Rapist," the perpetrator has been linked to 12 rapes of women and teens in Virginia, Maryland, Connecticut and Rhode Island. The first known attack occurred in Forestville, Md., in 1997. The last known attack occurred on Halloween in Dale City, Va.

"He is a very bold, fearless predator," Prince William County police spokeswoman Kim Chinn told The Washington Post. "The concern is that he's out there, he's not going to stop until he's caught and the violence could get worse."

In the latest attack, the perpetrator approached three teenage girls who were trick-or-treating near the Glendale Plaza in Dale City. Confronting the girls with a handgun, the man forced them into a wooded area where he raped two of them. The third girl managed to send a text to friends and family members, who were able to alert police. As a result, the suspect was forced to flee the scene before he could sexually assault the third teen.

Victims have described the rapist as a black man in his mid-30s with a medium build. He is known to use a variety of weapons, including knives, screwdrivers and handguns. Some eyewitnesses have reported seeing him riding a bicycle, whereas others say he was walking or driving a vehicle.

DNA has linked the suspect to the 12 known cases; however, police believe he could be connected to at least four other unsolved cases in which DNA was unavailable for testing.

Authorities believe the man is familiar with the areas in which he has committed his crimes and may have grown up in the Prince George County area where the spree began.

There is an unexplained gap in the attacks that occurred between December 2001 and November 2006. Authorities have speculated that the alleged rapist may have experienced a life-changing event -- imprisonment for another crime, birth of a child, etc. -- that caused the five-year hiatus. It is also possible that, as is the case in many rape attacks, the victims simply did not report the attacks out of fear or for other unknown reasons.

"No one deserves to be a victim of a violent crime. ... We know we are asking the public to think and to look at people they know, whether it is a loved one, a friend, a family member, an acquaintance. The interesting point to us is not just the physical description. ... It's the timeline of these cases," Fairfax County Police Chief David Rohrer said.

Anyone with information about this case is asked to call Crime Solvers at 866-411-TIPS.