Police captain is sure
rapist will strike again

By William Kenny
Times Staff Writer

The question is not if the "park rapist" will strike again. The real questions are when and where Philadelphia’s notorious serial sex offender and murderer will again rear his head.
Back from a recent trip to the FBI Academy in Quantico, Va., city police Capt. John Darby last week revealed that the unknown man wanted for four city sexual attacks, including the July 2003 rape and murder of Fairmount Park jogger Rebecca Park, will not simply stop his deviant activities.
The minds of serial criminals don’t work that way, Darby explained during the June 4 meeting of the 8th Police District Advisory Council. Federal criminal profilers agree.
"He will strike again. And if he killed before, he’ll do it again," said Darby, who heads his department’s special victims unit.
That’s why it’s imperative for local folks to take note of the details involving the suspect’s four known attacks, the most recent of which occurred Aug. 11, 2007, in Pennypack Park, according to the captain. Those details could help potential targets protect themselves and help potential witnesses spot the wanted killer.
Darby chose the monthly PDAC meeting to renew the police department’s public appeal for information in the case because detectives believe that the suspect may take advantage of the warm weather to look for new victims.
"The weather is getting warm, and there’s going to be a lot of people out there in the parks," the captain said.
Detectives have used DNA analysis, and relentless investigations link the four rapes and build an extensive profile of the perpetrator, including a series of composite sketches created with the assistance of surviving victims.
In all cases, the female victims were jogging or walking in park areas when ambushed by the suspect.
The first three known attacks all occurred in 2003 in the Fairmount Park portion of the city’s vast park system.
On April 30 that year, he raped a woman near Kelly Drive and Fountain Green Road.
The Rebecca Park rape and murder occurred on July 13 near the 3500 block of Conshohocken Ave.
Three months later, on Oct. 25, a third attack was reported near West River Drive and the Falls Bridge.
The suspect was described by victims as a Hispanic male with a thick accent. They said he is 5 feet 8 inches tall and has a medium or muscular build. He has a dark complexion and black hair. Victims noted his thin mustache and jaw-line beard, his bushy eyebrows and an earring in his left ear. In at least one case, he fled on a metallic purple 10-speed bike.
Police heard nothing about him for nearly four years until an eerily similar rape occurred in the Northeast, near Frankford and Solly avenues, last Aug. 11.
In that instance, the suspect jumped a woman walker in a secluded area of Pennypack Park, pulled her into the underbrush and raped her before fleeing westward through the park.
Police have maintained contact with the victim, who has since moved out of state, and together they have developed a new, more-detailed composite.
The woman noted a series of scars that the attacker had on his torso, particularly in the upper left chest area.
"Body scars are pretty unusual," Darby said. "Not many people are walking around with body scars like that."
Judging by the attacker’s repeated method, investigators suspect that he may have spent a good bit of time in the parks before selecting his victims. He may have known his victims’ regular jogging or walking routes and chosen to attack after they had expended much of their energy and strength.
"It appears this guy was targeting people," Darby said. "He may have been down there (in the park) with people, over and over again and he saw an opportunity."
Police don’t know for sure if the rapist is still in the area or even in the country, but local folks should assume that he is for their own safety and for the benefit of detectives, who follow up on even the most unlikely of leads.
Meanwhile, the common DNA sample recovered as evidence in each of the four known cases is part of a federal database and is routinely compared to other samples, new and old, known and unknown.
"This is probably the last of the serial offenders that we’ve identified who is still out there," Darby said.
"My people are watching this every day and they have been since 2003. He’s going to hit again. So we all need to work together. Put it in the back of your mind."
To report any information about the park rapist, call 215-686-TIPS.
In other 8th PDAC business:
• Capt. Deborah Kelly, commander of the district, reported that recent statistics reflect reductions across the board in local crime, along with increases in police activity within the district.
So far this year, homicides have been reduced from three to one, robberies with a gun from 53 to 43, aggravated assaults with a gun from 11 to nine and other aggravated assaults from 98 to 77. Meanwhile rapes were up from 12 to 16 and robberies not involving a gun from 50 to 61.
Activity-wise, property crime arrests within the district are up 16 percent, and quality-of-life crime arrests are up 26 percent this year to date.
Meanwhile, tow truck investigations have risen in the same period from 17 to 43, stolen auto recoveries from 73 to 76, curfew violations written from 118 to 180, truancy violations written from 153 to 378, moving violations written from 3,288 to 4,951, parking violations written from 1,986 to 2,612, vehicle investigations from 4,041 to 6,289 and pedestrian investigations from 649 to 1,381.
• Kelly credited the district’s 5-squad for much of the increased activity and awarded its members with a Squad Recognition Award. During May, the squad piled up five major crime arrests, seven "part two" crime arrests, eight narcotics arrests, 79 quality-of-life arrests, 51 truancy violations and 23 curfew violations. In addition, members conducted numerous vehicle and pedestrian stops and wrote dozens of traffic violations.
Among the major crime arrests were two thefts from auto cases, a burglary case and a firearms violation case.
• Officer Byron Ward was named Officer of the Month for April for his arrest of a home invasion suspect.
On April 19, at about 9:30 p.m., Ward went to a home on the 8700 block of Glenloch St., in response to a police radio call of a person with a weapon. A woman resident reported that another female had entered the house and threatened her with a kitchen knife, before fleeing. Ward began an immediate investigation and, with the help of witnesses, found the suspect at another location.
• The next 8th PDAC meeting will be on Wednesday, Sept. 3, at 7 p.m., at the 8th district headquarters, Academy and Red Lion roads. PDAC members and other community residents are welcome to attend and voice specific crime-related concerns. ••
Reporter William Kenny can be reached at 215-354-3031 or bkenny@phillynews.com