LOCAL : Paroled Rapist Held in Attacks on 3 USC Students Near Campus
A suspect has been arrested in a series of rapes in the victims’ apartments near the USC campus, police said today.
Willie Taylor, 28, a convicted rapist who was recently paroled from prison, was taken into custody Thursday night in Pomona, police said. He was being held on $240,000 bail.
Detectives said Thursday that they believe one man was responsible for the two attacks on three USC students within the last two weeks. Police said “significant physical evidence” was found at the scene of the second incident on Wednesday that linked the suspect to both attacks.
The first rape occurred Sept. 17 on Shrine Place just north of the campus. A man entered the victim’s apartment about 5 a.m.--reportedly through an open window--and raped her.
The second attack occurred Wednesday about 2:30 a.m. Two female roommates were assaulted in their beds in their off-campus apartment on 30th Street two blocks north of USC, police said.
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