Police Hunt Rapist Who Attacked Woman in Laundry Room

Police were searching Tuesday for a rapist who attacked a 19-year-old woman in the laundry room of her apartment complex.

The attacker pretended to be washing clothes when the victim arrived at 7:30 p.m. Monday to do her laundry, Costa Mesa Police Lt. Ron Smith said.

The man grabbed the victim, punched her in the face when she screamed and then raped her, Smith said.

“He punched her hard--hard enough to knock out her two front teeth,” Smith said.

The rapist was described as a white man in his 30s, about 5-foot-10 with a thin build and shoulder-length blond, wavy hair. He was wearing blue jeans and a white T-shirt with a logo on it.

The attack took place in the common laundry room at the rear of a gated apartment complex in the 1800 block of Placentia Avenue, Smith said.

The victim, whose name was withheld, was loading her clothes into a washer when the attacker grabbed her from behind.

“She screamed but no one heard her, and he told her, ‘Be quiet or I’ll kill you,’ ” Smith said. “After he raped her, he again threatened her life, telling her he would kill her if she told anyone what happened.”

The victim, whose husband was at work at the time of the attack, met with police again Tuesday to go over the details of the crime.

“She’s doing as well as can be expected, I suppose,” Smith said. “She was scared to death and hurt pretty badly.”

Three residents at the complex told investigators the description seemed to match that of a man seen in recent days near the complex, Smith said. “We don’t think he lives in that area, so he may have been casing it,” Smith said.

Investigators worked with the victim and witnesses to put together a computer composite sketch of the man, and police asked anyone with information about the attack to call (714) 754-5197.