Suspect Sought in Rape of Woman in Lake Forest

Investigators are searching for a man who raped and sodomized a 39-year-old woman hours after meeting her Friday night at a country music club.

The woman said she had met a man she knew only as “Billy” at the Country Rock Cafe in Lake Forest, Sheriff’s Lt. Keith Brown said.

The woman said she had received assurances from others that “Billy” could be trusted and they headed to a Denny’s for food, Brown said.

In the parking lot of the restaurant, the woman said “Billy” pushed her into the back of her van, punched her when she resisted, then raped and sodomized her, Brown said.

The woman said the man then started driving the van back toward the cafe to pick up his truck. She fled from the van about 2:20 a.m. when it came to a stoplight at Muirlands Boulevard and Ridge Route Drive, Brown said.

A passing motorist stopped to help the woman, who was taken to Martin Luther Hospital in Anaheim for treatment, Brown said. Her van was recovered back at the cafe.

The rape suspect is described as standing about 6 feet tall, stocky and of Italian ancestry. He was believed to be driving a full-size blue pickup with an extended cab.