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Chandler rapist search expands beyond Arizona
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Police sketch of rapist suspect
Chandler police have expanded their search both out-of-state and internationally for a serial rapist who has sexually assaulted four girls already.
June: Police warn neighbors; sketch and map
The Chandler rapist usually stalks 12- to 14-year-old girls weeks in advance and then attacks them in their homes, police said. His latest victim was a 14-year-old girl who was attacked June 8 in her mobile home while her grandparents sat on the front porch.
In addition to physical evidence, Chandler police have received more than 1,700 tips in the case.
More than 1,200 investigative leads have been assigned to detectives, and 700 suspects have already been ruled out by police.
Chandler police Sgt. Rick Griner said investigators have no reason to believe the rapist has left town, but information in the case has been sent to police departments throughout the United States.
Griner said sexual assaults similar to those of the Chandler rapist have been investigated in Peoria, Las Vegas and Indianapolis, but no connections were found to the Chandler case.
Griner said officers who have gone on vacation in Mexico have also distributed Silent Witness fliers that include a composite sketch of the rapist. The fliers are printed in English and Spanish.
Victims have described the rapist as a Hispanic male, 28 to 40 years old with a short and stocky muscular build, dark hair and hazel or brown eyes.
He speaks English and Spanish fluently and has been seen wearing tan pants and a blue short-sleeved shirt or “worker clothes.”
The longest gap between connected sexual assaults has been seven months, between June 4, 2006 and Jan. 16.
By the numbers
Chandler police have sorted through hundreds of tips in the rapist investigation.
• 1,778 tips
• 700 individuals ruled out
• 367 Silent Witness leads
• 35 Chandler police tip line and Internet leads
• 2 leads after mention on “America’s Most Wanted”
SOURCE: Chandler Police Department
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