Guardian Angels Help Search For Washington Heights Rapist
CHICAGO (CBS) -- The Guardian Angels were out in the Washington Heights neighborhood Friday morning, trying to help police catch a serial rapist who attacked two women and a teenage girl on Wednesday, and nearly attacked an 11-year-old girl.
WBBM Newsradio's Mike Krauser reports Miguel Fuentes and other members of the Guardian Angels were passing out flyers with a sketch of the suspect.
"He broke into two houses, raped two women in one of the houses, and sexually assaulted another girl on the way to school," Fuentes said. "This guy definitely needs to be off the street. This is … a number one priority, especially on the South Side. The community; somebody knows who this guy is. They need to drop dime, they need to call the police, they need to call the Guardian Angels, and get him off the street."
Guardian Angels Assist In Search For Serial Rapist
The way Fuentes sees it, if the suspect attacked two women, a 14-year-old girl, and hid in the closet of an 11-year-old girl all in one morning, he will attack again.
"It's not like the guy's going to all of a sudden find Jesus, and heal himself. This guy's going to attack again, so we need to stop him before he does," Fuentes said.
He said the Guardian Angels have received some tips, and passed them on to police.
Detectives had been questioning a man about the attacks Wednesday afternoon, but came to believe he was not responsible for the series of attacks, which all took place in a three-block radius in a span of a few hours.
That man has since been released, and police were back at square one in their search for the attacker. They have released a sketch of the suspect, who is described as a young man between 16 and 22 years old, standing about 6 feet tall, weighing about 160 pounds, with dark skin, shoulder-length dreadlocks, and a slender build.
Police said the attacks started around 4 a.m. Wednesday, when two women -- a 43-year-old woman and her 22-year-old daughter -- were sexually assaulted while they slept in their home in the 10300 block of South Emerald Avenue.
Later, around 5:30 a.m., police believe the same man broke into a house in the 10100 block of South Green Street, and hid in an 11-year-old girl's closet.
The girl's parents said she woke up to the sound of her puppy barking, and saw the man in her closet. When she screamed, the man dove out the window as her father ran into the room. The suspect never laid a finger on the girl.
The girl's father said he believes the suspect got into the house by propping a garbage can against his daughter's window, and climbing in. The window was closed, but not locked.
Police said, about an hour later, the same man sexually assaulted a 14-year-old girl walking to her bus stop about a block away, near 103rd and Peoria Streets. He dragged that girl into a nearby yard, and raped her.
