Parolee Held in Rapes Near USC Campus : Crime: The suspect, a convicted rapist, allegedly assaulted three women. Arrest triggers outcry over his early release from state prison.

A convicted rapist who was paroled just more than three weeks ago has been arrested on suspicion of raping three students near the USC campus, Los Angeles Police report.

Willie Damon Taylor, 28, of South-Central Los Angeles, is accused of breaking into two apartments and raping three women after tying them up with their undergarments, police said.

Taylor, who police said has a lengthy arrest record dating back to his teens, was paroled on Sept. 5 from state prison--11 days before the first rape. When released, he had served 2 1/2 years of a six-year sentence for a 1985 rape in Long Beach.

“In my opinion, this is another failure of the criminal justice system. This is a rapist who has been identified, convicted, only to be released and rape again,” said Deputy Chief William Rathburn. “I would hope that he would spend the rest of his life in jail.”

Investigators said that Taylor’s fingerprints were found on a window in the apartment of two 20-year-old women raped Wednesday night.

After identifying the prints, police phoned Taylor’s parole officer in Pomona Thursday afternoon, and Taylor happened to be in the office at the time of the call. The parole officer handcuffed Taylor, police said, but the ex-convict distracted the parole officer by feigning illness, then ran away, still in handcuffs.

He was arrested Thursday night as he crouched behind a relative’s couch in Pomona and was taken to Southwest Division Jail, where he was being held on $240,000 bail.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Andrew J. McMullen said that he plans to file on Monday at least 19 felony counts against Taylor, including rape, sodomy, burglary and robbery.

Taylor was arrested five times as a juvenile, said Lt. Rich Molony, head of the Southwest Division detective detail.

As an adult, he was convicted in 1982 of robbery and sentenced to one year in the county jail and five years of probation, said Harold White, deputy regional administrator for the State Parole Division in Santa Ana.

In October, 1983, he was arrested on suspicion of car theft; his probation was revoked and he was sent back to state prison.

A year and a half later, he was arrested for the rape of a Long Beach woman, and he was convicted in 1986. He served 2 1/2 years of a six-year prison sentence, which is within the normal range for that offense. He was paroled on Aug. 15, 1988, but was returned to prison two months later for violating parole, after he was arrested on suspicion of attempted burglary and possession of marijuana, White said.

Taylor was released from prison in October, 1989, but arrested one month later on a second parole violation--prowling and giving false identification to a police officer. He was paroled on Sept. 5 from the California Rehabilitation Center in Norco, White said.

Taylor committed the first rape 11 days later, police allege, breaking into the victim’s apartment on Shrine Place through a sliding-glass door and raping her, said Detective John Campbell.

The most recent attacks took place about 2:20 a.m. Wednesday when two roommates were raped at their West 30th Street apartment, two blocks north of campus, said Detective Dave Barber.

Taylor allegedly tied up one victim with undergarments while he raped her roommate. He then raped the second woman after tying up the first, police said, adding that the assailant indicated he had a gun but no weapon was seen by the women or found by police. He allegedly stole small sums of money from all three victims, police said.

All three victims gave descriptions matching Taylor’s, and one victim identified him in a photo lineup, Campbell said.

Kathleen Bartle-Schulweis, the Women’s Issues Advocate at USC, said the news that a rapist was active near the USC campus terrorized students.

“The entire tone of this neighborhood changed when this man arrived two weeks ago,” she said. “One man totally altered people’s emotions on this campus, and no one feels safe,” she said. “I don’t understand why rapists don’t get the punishment they deserve.”

Gail Abarbanel, director of the Rape Treatment Center at Santa Monica Hospital, said the center has seen “case after case” in which a rapist has recently been paroled or placed on probation.

She blamed a “revolving door” penal system that releases felons before their full terms are served, and added that rapists are seldom rehabilitated in prison.

“These are very dangerous criminals, and they really repeat these offenses,” Abarbanel said. “It’s a very compulsive behavior. These criminals are back on the street very fast, and we are not protected.”

Word of the rapes had circulated on the USC campus through dormitory resident advisers, seminars and word of mouth, and most students were taking special precautions, said USC freshman Lisa Purpura.

“We usually take guys with us wherever we go. We’re aware of what can happen to us,” said Purpura, 18, who recently arrived from Monroeville, Pa. “We know our neighborhood is not wonderful.”

Campus administrators expressed relief that a suspect had been arrested in the rapes.

“We are very relieved that a suspect has been detained and we are hopeful that this concludes the problem,” said James M. Dennis, vice president for student affairs.