College Circuit Comedian Suspected in Campus Rapes
A college circuit comedian who has been charged with an attempted rape at Pasadena City College is a suspect in a series of rapes on campuses across the Midwest, authorities said Monday.
Vinson Horace Champ, 35, of Los Angeles was charged with robbery, burglary, intent to commit rape and attempted rape after the May 6 attack on a student in a piano room at the Pasadena college, authorities said.
A bulletin distributed nationwide by Pasadena college police on the rape charge prompted responses from authorities across the Midwest, where in February and March a rapist targeted women in college computer labs and music rooms.
FBI Agent Tom Richardson in Omaha said police departments in Iowa, Nebraska, Illinois and Wisconsin “are looking at Champ in connection with four rapes and two attempted rapes. . . . The cases have similarities.”
Champ could not be reached for comment.
He was arrested May 7 by authorities tracing a license plate number provided by two witnesses who heard the victim’s screams and saw an assailant flee after the attack. Champ was released May 8 on $75,000 bail before being identified as a possible suspect in the other rapes.
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