HUNTINGTON BEACH : Composite Sketch of Rapist Is Released

Police have released a composite sketch of a man who raped a woman Sept. 27 after luring her to his parked van on the pretense that his infant had stopped breathing.

The victim, a 21-year-old Huntington Beach woman, told investigators that the attack took place about 6 p.m. in an alley behind a commercial area at Beach Boulevard and Terry Drive. She said the man pushed her inside the late model, dark-blue van and held a gun to her head while he assaulted her. She was subsequently released at the scene, and the man fled south on Beach.

Police describe the man as Latino, 30 to 35 years old, 5 feet 10 inches tall and weighing 180 pounds. He was further described as having dark hair and a stubble of beard. He was wearing a turquoise shirt and gray sweat pants. The van was described as full-size, possibly a Dodge, with tinted windows and a rear-mounted spare-tire rack with no tire.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Huntington Police Detective Dennis Branch at (714) 536-5608.