'Teardrop Rapist' Attacks 28th Victim After 5 Year Hiatus

By CHRISTINA NG | Good Morning America – Wed, Apr 25, 2012 1:19 PM EDT
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A serial rapist in Los Angeles known for a teardrop tattoo and distinct mode of operation has attacked a 28th victim after a five-year hiatus.

Authorities in Los Angeles are on the hunt for the "teardrop rapist" and asking for the public's help. The suspect has been linked to 28 sexual assaults beginning in February 1996.

After no reported attacks for five years, authorities used DNA to link the suspect to a November 2011 attack.

On Nov. 10, A 15-year-old girl was walking in south L.A. when a man approached her and asked for directions. He then pulled a gun on her and forced her to walk a short distance to a yard where he sexually assaulted her, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.
Authorities do not know the reason behind the five-year break between attacks, but have speculated that it could mean the perpetrator could have been behind bars for another crime.

The 28 similar incidents have been linked "through DNA evidence and/or the suspect's distinct mode of operation," according to police.
"The crimes have been rape, sodomy, oral copulation, kidnapping…the M.O. is very distinct…these are women walking alone," Los Angeles Police Deputy Chief Kirk Albanese said at a news conference.

All of the crimes occurred early in the morning between 5 a.m. and 8 a.m., police said in a news release. The suspect approached each victim and engaged them in conversation before producing a knife or firearm. He would then force them to walk to a secluded area where he would sexually assault them. The victims have ranged from ages 14 to 41.

And then there's the unforgettable teardrop tattoo.

"The teardrops have been mentioned by a large number of the victims. We believe that that is a clue in play and worthy of mention, yet confusing because some victims have said right eye, some victims have said left eye," Albanese said. "Some victims have said one teardrop; one victim said as many as three teardrops. So, we don't want to confuse the public, but at the same time we want to put information out that's relevant to our ability to arrest this guy."

On Tuesday, the LAPD released nine composite sketches of the suspect based on the descriptions from the 28 victims. Police acknowledge the variations in the illustrations and said they are common when crimes are reported by multiple people over several years.

Albanese also warned women in Los Angeles to be on high alert and advised that they not walk around in those early hours alone, especially with headphones on that would make it hard to hear someone approaching.

Authorities believe the suspect is a Hispanic male between the ages of 27 and 40 with brown hair and brown eyes. They think he is between 5-feet-2 inches and 6 feet tall and weighs between 130 and 200 pounds. WTH??? What kind of description is this???? He has been described as having a light complexion and possibly and moustache.

They said the suspect may have tried to remove the teardrop tattoo. He has been seen wearing a baseball cap or dark beanie on his head and dressed in a dark hooded sweatshirt with a green bandana.

Detectives are asking anyone with any information to call 1-877-527-3247, a hotline that has been set up specifically for this case.

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LAPD Launches Manhunt for Prolific Serial ‘Teardrop Rapist’

Apr 25, 2012 4:45 AM EDT

Police are going all out to catch the man they believe has sexually assaulted 28 women since 1996 in South Los Angeles and Koreatown, and whose undereye tattoo has earned him the moniker ‘the Teardrop Rapist.’

The Los Angeles Police Department is conducting a manhunt for a prolific serial rapist who has been linked to at least 28 sexual assaults since 1996. He has been nicknamed the “Teardrop Rapist” because he is believed to have one or more teardrop-shaped tattoos beneath one of his eyes, which is fairly common with some gang members.

“This series has gone on too long,” said Deputy Chief Kirk Albanese. “We need to put an end to it. We need to put the bad guy in jail.”

Police have advised women to walk in pairs until the assailant is caught.

The early-morning assaults have mostly occurred while the victims—all Hispanic, except for two black women, between the ages of 14 and 41—were walking along sidewalks on their way to work or school in South Los Angeles or Koreatown. In many of the cases, the police said the attacker approached his victims asking for directions or attempting to make small talk, before he pulled out a gun or knife and steered them into an alleyway or yard.

“We don’t know if he is laying in wait or following them,” said Sharlene Johnson, one of 12 LAPD detectives assigned to the case.

The assailant’s last assault took place on Nov. 10, 2011, about 5:30 a.m., when he asked a 15-year-old girl walking to school in South Los Angeles for directions. The man forced the teen at gunpoint into a nearby yard, where he sexually assaulted her. Within weeks of her attack, he was linked by DNA evidence and his “distinct mode of operation,” to the other cases, police said. If he has been linked by DNA evidence, then WHY can't they name him? If he has served time in prison, one would think it would be easy to figure out who this person is!! Makes NO sense to me!

Police sketches based on multiple witness descriptions of what may be the same attacker.

Eerily, the attacks have occurred over a 16-year-period, with the rapist taking a number of breaks in between. “There are often lags,” Johnson said. “It is not uncommon. It is not unusual for there to be gaps in between.”

Sketchy Characters: How Accurate Are Police Sketches?
Case in point is the notorious story of “the Grim Sleeper,” one of L.A.’s most notorious serial killers. The man got the moniker because he took a number of long breaks during his alleged murder-and-sexual-assault spree, which began in 1985. His victims, who were mostly poor, young black women living in South Los Angeles, were dumped in alleyways and parks along L.A.’s seedy Western Boulevard. His last alleged victim, Janecia Peters, was discovered in a dumpster in January 2007, three years after his last known attack. Police arrested Lonnie Franklin Jr. in the summer of 2010, when DNA and ballistic evidence linked him to the slayings. He has been charged with multiple counts of murder, as well as other offenses.

LAPD detective Jesse Alvarado said he is fearful that the Teardrop Rapist may continue his attacks. “At this point he may hit again,” he said. “This investigation will take a long time.”

Alvarado said the attacker, who is fluent in both Spanish and English, seems to be right at home in the areas where he is scoping out victims. He doesn’t stand out and fits easily into the neighborhood, he said.

Alvarado said that, unlike most rapists, the Teardrop Rapist doesn’t seem to have a type. “He targets women who are alone. Rapists usually have an age range. He doesn’t. He is more of an opportunist.”

At a press conference Tuesday, police released several composite drawings of the man they believe is responsible for the decades-long spree. He is described as a 40-something Latino man 5 feet 2 inches to 6 feet tall, weighing 130 to 200 pounds. He also has been described as having either one or two teardrops tattooed under his right or left eye. Police believe he may have attempted to remove the tattoo in an effort to thwart authorities.

The Teardrop Rapist began his crime spree in 1996 with the attack of a Hispanic girl. His second known attack came in 1999 with the rape of a 14-year-old girl who was abducted in a carport behind an apartment building. That same year, he attacked an 18-year-old woman in Koreatown.

At the time, his victims described him as a 30- to 40-year-old Latino male with brown eyes, brown hair, 5-foot-5 to 5-foot-9, and weighing about 150 pounds.
In August 1999, police arrested a 21-year-old man for the attacks, but he was later exonerated through DNA evidence.

During the Teardrop Rapist’s crimes, police were shocked when they realized in 2001 that there was another serial rapist operating in Los Angeles. That assailant, dubbed the “Canoga Park rapist” because he attacked his victims in L.A.’s San Fernando Valley area, also used a knife and a gun to assault his victims.

Those victims, who ranged in age from 17 to 43, were assaulted in their homes and cars. A couple of the women were raped in front of their children. At the time, that rapist was described as a Latino male in his 20s about 5 feet 6 inches to 5 feet 9 inches tall, and weighing around 200 pounds.

More attacks linked to the Teardrop Rapist soon occurred. By June 2003, there were 20 incidents matching his MO, police said. That same year, the LAPD appealed for help after a 15-year-old girl was sexually assaulted in the area of Hoover and Gage Avenues. The girl described her attacker as wearing a dark hooded sweatshirt, a green bandanna, and a black baseball cap or dark-colored beanie.

The man took a hiatus before he resumed his attacks, in 2005. He lay low for six more years after that, before he attacked the other 15-year-old girl in November 2011.

The Teardrop Rapist is one of a handful of Los Angeles serial rapists.

Many of L.A.’s serial rapists are now behind bars, including Robert Charles Lee, who was convicted in March of sexually assaulting at least 10 women in Los Angeles and Orange counties. Lee, whose crime spree spanned almost a decade, attacked his victims with a knife in their homes. Most of his victims were between 55 and 75 years old. He was caught after DNA evidence linked him to the crimes in 2006.

Some serial rapists have not been caught—including the “Canoga Park rapist” and the elusive Hyperion Bridge rapist, who has attacked more than 19 school-age girls since 1995. Most of the victims of the Hyperion Bridge rapist, who were raped, groped, or fondled near Marshall High School, were 11 to 17 years old.

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I do not think these composites look the same at all.

July 5, 2012



Investigators at the Los Angeles Police Department believe that the ‘Teardrop Rapist’ has attacked his 36th victim in South L.A. last June. LAPD detective Jesse Alvarado said that a 29-year old woman was victimized as she walked to work alone at 5:30am on Naomi Avenue near 25th Street.

The victim was walking to work on June 15 when a man wearing a hoodie talked to her and then stuck a gun in her face. He forced the victim into an alley. The man tried to sexually assault her before he was scared off by a vehicle that turned into the alley. The man fled on foot before he was able to assault the 29-year old woman.

According to the LAPD, the scenario and events of the attack — early morning, woman alone, and fleeing at the first sign of getting caught – suggests that the man was the ‘Teardrop Rapist’. The suspect is a serial rapist identified from teardrop-shaped facial marks below one of his eyes.

Los Angeles detectives profile the suspect as an opportunist who victimizes women who are alone. Most of his attacks are attempts as he flees at the smallest sign of getting caught. This, according to the police, makes him more difficult to catch.

According to Det. Alvarado, the suspect has been linked to 35 other attacks in L.A. that date back to February 1996. He is also blamed for a recent attack in south L.A., on a 15-year old girl who was pulled into a secluded yard and sexually assaulted in the wee hours of the morning.

Detectives say 11 attacks have been linked to the same rapist through DNA and linked to the remaining attacks by other types of evidence. Alvarado said the police department recently re-examined older cases and identified 8 robberies they now link to the ‘Teardrop Rapist’.

The ‘Teardrop Rapist’ has victimized women from Hollywood to South L.A.’s Manchester Boulevard which places him near the L.A. memorial Coliseum area, according to geographical analysts. Victims are in the age range of 14 to 41 years old and are typically Latina.

About 33 of his victims are off South American descent. The suspect usually targets women who are walking alone during early morning hours. He typically wields a gun and sometimes a knife. The Los Angeles Police Department has launched a manhunt for the suspect.


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Those suspect drawings all look so different. So all we know for sure is he's male??

Good catch!