Serial butt slasher attacking women shoppers in Virginia stores, cops say

(CBS/AP) - Authorities say they are hunting for a serial butt slasher after a string of attacks on young women in shopping malls throughout Fairfax County, Virginia.

According to police spokesperson Lucy Caldwell, the latest attack occurred at Fair Oaks mall around 5:30 p.m. Monday.

Caldwell says the woman heard someone behind her drop clothes or a package. The woman then felt a sharp pain and realized she had been cut. Caldwell says the woman was cut on the buttocks through her denim shorts with a box cutter or razor.

There have similar attacks in retail stores across the county in the last six months, Caldwell says. All of the victims have all been in their late teens or early 20s.

Ex-FBI profiler Gregg McCrary said the attacks likely won't stop until the culprit is captured, reports Virginia's News & Messenger.

McCrary reportedly says the perpetrator seems to have a sexual disorder called piquerism, meaning the attacker gets sexual gratification from stabbing, pricking or cutting with a sharp object.

"He's driven to this," McCrary told the News & Messenger. "If he's in his late 20s, this is a little late for it to be his first time out. Chances are he's done something like this before. Police, I'm sure, are going to go back and look for similar crimes."

Police said that the attacker is a heavyset Hispanic man in his late 20s around 5-feet-6-inches tall.