Lake Forest Is Jolted by Rape of 9-Year-Old : Crime: Some say city could make Serrano Creek Community Park safer. Police hope to release sketch of suspect today.

Parents who live near rustic Serrano Creek Community Park were reeling Monday from news that a 9-year-old had been raped there over the weekend and that her attacker was still at large.

The Orange County Sheriff’s Department offered no new information about a suspect, but nearby residents reacted apprehensively, saying they could no longer view the park as the bucolic neighborhood sanctuary that many believed it was.

“It’s horrible. It’s so scary,” said Kerri Mendenhall, 33, who was taking her 3-year-old daughter for a walk. “We love to come here. We love nature, and this park is full of nature. We never thought something like that could happen here. We’ll never again go here at night.”

Monday afternoon, the park seemed as serene as the stream that flows through the heart of the 4.4-acre area, which features hiking, biking and jogging trails and a bridle path that meanders through towering eucalyptus groves.

But fear was evident in the faces of dozens of parents, who nervously escorted their children home from Rancho Canada Elementary School, across the street from the park, while Sheriff’s Department squad cars patrolled the area.

“I’ve never seen so many people so readily concerned about anything around here,” said John Hill, 48, a property manager who lives in the neighborhood.

Hill said that while it’s doubtful anything could have prevented the attacker from abducting the girl from the sidewalk near Serrano Road and raping her in a wooded area, he believed the city could have done more to make the park safer.

“We’ve asked them to raise the level of the trees in the park so that it’s not so dense and secluded,” Hill said. “We’ve asked for weed abatement and safety surveys. We’ve asked for more and better lighting. The lighting around here is minimal at best.

“A lot of people use the park, but a lot of my friends and neighbors won’t use the park. They say it’s too foreboding. There’s too many places in all this brush where bad guys can hide. And because so many kids play in here, something needs to be done.”

But David Bass, the city’s director of administrative services, said Monday that Lake Forest “has not fallen short in that area. Last spring, we did a substantial amount of tree-thinning and brush-clearing, and the park got greater visibility.”

Bass said the park’s lights were cleaned of a buildup of dust last spring. But because the lights are the low-sodium variety preferred by observatories instead of the bright white lights favored in high-crime areas, it’s often difficult to see at night anyway.

“It’s tragic when anything like this happens,” Bass said, “and we’re evaluating the situation thoroughly. While we’ll never eliminate crime, we want to reduce its potential for occurring. We’re keeping on top of this. We’re waiting for all the facts.”

Sheriff’s Department officials said they met with the girl Monday to complete a composite drawing of the suspect they hope to release today. They described the attacker as a white male in his late 20s, 5-feet-11, 180 pounds, with long dark hair.

Sheriff’s officials said an attempted rape occurred in the same park in August, 1992, when a man physically assaulted a 41-year-old female jogger early one morning.

Many residents said Monday the crime has shattered the calm of an otherwise serene neighborhood.

Chris Albin, 36, an Anaheim firefighter who lives near the park, said he was “really, really surprised” by the assault.

“We usually come here after school,” said Albin, who was walking with his 4-year-old daughter, as a golden palomino and its rider lumbered along the creek. “I’m sure everybody will be keeping a much closer eye on their kids.”

Many residents said they never use the park after dusk, when it officially closes. There are no gates to the grounds, so anyone can enter after dark.

The time of Saturday’s attack, 7 p.m., confirmed fears that the park and its dense underbrush, which masks many hideaways, are no place for children or adults.

Robert DiNunzio, 38, a swimming-pool technician, said he and many of the children who live in the neighborhood were “completely shocked” by the assault. He said the children were also traumatized by the police helicopters that hovered over the park until early Sunday.

“It’s totally scary,” said Terri Page, 30, who grew up and lived in the area long before Lake Forest incorporated in 1991.

“Growing up here, this kind of thing never would have happened. I guess the world’s changed, and we all have to be careful.”