Police Link Suspect to Garden Grove Crimes

Garden Grove police have linked a man to 18 crimes, including the rape and molestation of severely handicapped women.

The suspect, described as slim and in his late 20s, is “apparently seeking out victims who are vulnerable,” said Lt. Ken Whitlach.

Police released an artist’s sketch of the man, based on descriptions furnished by his victims.

All of the crimes have occurred in a 6-mile area of the city. They include four rapes, two molestations, attempted rapes, burglaries and prowling.

The victims range in age from 14 to 70, and the crimes generally are committed at night, police said.

Investigators believe the crimes were committed by the same person because of the times they occurred, the method of entry and the behavior of the assailant, including use of harsh language and a knife.

The victims are generally people who are alone and have left an entrance open, police said. But other victims are residents of a home for disabled women on Wilson Street.

The investigation has been hampered, Whitlach said, because some victims have been unable to communicate with police.

One resident, who is 33 and blind, said she was half asleep at about 5 a.m. late last April when she heard the screen door of her room move. She thought the wind might have moved it.

As she started to fall back asleep, she felt someone beside her and thought it was her roommate, she said.

“I said ‘hello’ and I said her name,” the woman recounted. “I reached over and realized that wasn’t her leg. It was somebody else’s. It was the man who raped me.”

The house, where police say the man is suspected of committing five crimes--ranging from prowling to rape--since last December, now has a $12,000 security system with infrared body heat sensors and full-view cameras.

“As far as I’m concerned, this is terrorism,” said Barry Rub, the house’s owner. “I’m treating this problem as if I’m dealing with terrorists.”

“It’s almost unbelievable that a person would zero in on our people,” Rub said. “The guy’s got to be extremely sick.”