By Sarah Muench
The Arizona Republic
CHANDLER, Ariz. — The unsuccessful hunt for a serial rapist stalking Chandler teens for more than a year has prompted police to expand their search nationally, combing through similar cases.
“We want to turn over every stone,” said Chandler police Detective Chris Pérez, lead investigator on the case.
Since the latest attack, a June 8 rape of a 14-year-old girl in her home, the man does not appear to have struck again, at least locally. The rapes of four girls and the attempted rape of two others, all in Chandler, have been connected in the case, police said. All victims were 12 to 14 years old. advertisement
Meanwhile, police have been working on nearly 2,000 tips, as well as communicating with other agencies to investigate several recent and similar crimes that involve arrests of men who look like the lone sketch Chandler police have to go on. Incidents that may match include cases in Las Vegas, Indianapolis and Peoria, Ariz., Pérez said.
Detectives are looking at a man Peoria police arrested in August on suspicion of the attempted sexual assault of a 13-year-old girl inside a Fry’s supermarket, police said.
Police believe the 23-year-old man, who is still in jail, grabbed and forced the girl to the floor as she exited a bathroom and as he forced his way into the restroom, Peoria police said in August.
Similarities exist, although the assault did not take place in a home. The suspect in the Peoria case also may be too young. Chandler police believe their rapist is in his 30s.
The Las Vegas case involves a man police arrested who fits the description of the Chandler rapist and who they believe attempted to abduct a girl from her bedroom, Pérez said. In Indianapolis, a man who could be a match reportedly attempted to kidnap his neighbor, Pérez said.
So far, detectives working on the case have been able to rule out 700 people, Pérez said, adding that the process is time-consuming because police have to be thorough and maintain people’s civil rights.
However, “every lead that we rule out gets us closer,” he said.
In the meantime, police are providing schoolchildren with safety information that could save them from an attack, even telling them to use a pen or pencil to stab an attacker.
“It gave us a lot of interesting tips,” said Lexi Sorrentino, 12, a student at St. Mary-Basha Catholic School in downtown Chandler who attended a police presentation at the school Thursday. “We’ve been kind of nervous.”
Most of the nearly 200 students at St. Mary-Basha watching the presentation raised their hands to show they had heard about the “Chandler Rapist,” a name police have coined for the man.
“You can never be safe enough,” said Sister Mary Norbert, the school’s principal, adding that the only way students can leave the school is through the front office. “Our kids live in the area. The caution level has been raised.”
Throughout the year, police have given presentations at nearly all junior-high schools in Chandler to warn students and offer safety tips. A billboard featuring the sketch and donated by Silent Witness also remains up on the Santan Freeway.
Copyright 2007 Arizona Republic