Police step up search for serial rapist

Six violent sexual attacks in north Minneapolis have police conducting an intense search for a serial rapist and fearful residents locking their windows and staying home after dark.

In a 10-day span, one man has attacked five women within four blocks of the west-central area of the Jordan neighborhood, police believe. The latest attack happened Monday. Police also have linked the attacker to a sixth sexual assault July 2 outside the Jordan neighborhood.

Each victim gave a similar description of the assailant, who threatened each victim with a gun or knife, said Lt. Nancy Dunlap, head of the Police Department's sex crimes unit. Each attack happened between 10 p.m. and 4 a.m. and involved the same particularly violent sexual act, she said. None of the victims recognized her attacker.

Police say that number of rapes in such a short time is extremely rare and heightens their concern and the urgency of the investigation.

Residents of the area are alarmed, too.

Word about the rapes had spread quickly Tuesday. At the CVS Pharmacy on West Broadway, groups of women described extra security measures they are taking and traded rumors about the suspect.

Chrishna Beard, who had worked the night shift at CVS, said that until last week, she used to walk the few blocks to her home after work.

But after she heard about the attacks, "I was scared," she said. "When my mom heard, she was scared too, because she usually sleeps with her windows open. I told her, 'You can't do that anymore.'"

Last week, investigators learned about three of the assaults on the same day, determined that they were linked and sent a crime alert to neighborhood residents.

Word of the assaults led more women to come forward to report similar attacks, Dunlap said.

"Somebody out there knows who this guy is," she said.

Serial rapists, particularly one who commits crimes in a specific geographical area, are rare. There have been three similar series of crimes locally in the past few years.

In November, a 16-year-old was suspected in five rapes of strangers in Minneapolis and Columbia Heights.

In the 1990s, Tony D. Jackson was charged with raping four women in the Twin Cities.

In the early 1990s, Timothy Baugh was connected to 13 rapes in Minneapolis.

'All the victims were in fear'

After the July 2 attack, the next reported assault didn't take place until Aug. 15. In Monday's attack, the woman managed to escape before being sexually assaulted.

Each time, the suspect has accosted a woman walking alone and forced her into an alley or the narrow area between garages, Dunlap said.

"He threatened them if they didn't cooperate," she said. "All the victims were in fear."

The victims, all of whom live in the area, range in age from their 20s to their 40s. When police began to investigate the first assaults reported, they learned about other attacks from friends of the victims.

Dunlap would not discuss if police have physical evidence that connects the cases. They are checking on sex offenders who live in the area and looking for any similar cases, she said. More police officers are patrolling the neighborhood, as well.

"This guy is hanging out there and engaging in high-risk behavior," she said. "He needs to be stopped."

Victims described the suspect as a black male in his early to middle 20s who is of medium height, build and complexion. He has cornrow braids and a very thin beard that extends from ear to ear.

Dunlap cautioned people in the neighborhood to be extra cautious when walking at night.

Anybody with information should call 612-673-2941 and ask for Sgt. Jim Spencer, she said.

Statistics can't quell fears

Despite the attacks, sexual assaults in the city of Minneapolis have dropped about 17 percent from this time least year.

The number of reported assaults on the city's North Side this year is nearly equal to the number at this time last year, police said.

But those numbers are of little comfort to neighborhood residents.

On Tuesday, Kizzy Owens, 28, and Katie Meeks, 27, said that they won't stop walking around their neighborhood, but that they will try to stay in groups and take other precautions.

"We can't help but walk here," Meeks said. "But I'm gonna carry a knife from now on."

Owens said she worries about the lack of streetlights in her neighborhood. "It's dark on all the streets around here," she said. "Even the CVS is only lit up until 11 p.m."

Beard, the CVS worker, said that for the next few weeks, she won't venture out after dark. But it's frustrating, she said, that "you can't be out as a young woman and be safe."

dchanen@startribune.com • 612-673-4465 lpabst@startribune.com • 612-673-4628