Belmont Shore Rapist Suspected as Woman Fights, Scratches Intruder

Police believe that an intruder who broke into a woman’s Long Beach home Thursday morning, nude with a cloth over his face, is the man responsible for a string of sexual attacks dating to 1996.

The man entered the 33-year-old woman’s home at Ximeno Avenue and Burnett Street about 2 a.m., said Long Beach Police Sgt. Paul LeBaron.

The woman struggled and left scratches on his chest and possibly his face and arms. He ran away without sexually attacking her.

LeBaron said police “believe there is a connection” between this attack and the so-called Belmont Shore rapist, who has sexually assaulted 11 women since 1996. The first attack occurred in Seattle; eight have occurred in Long Beach and one each in Huntington Beach and Los Alamitos.

Police also believe he has unsuccessfully tried to rape three other women, including the one Thursday, who was treated at a hospital for minor injuries, and a 75-year-old Huntington Beach woman Tuesday. She also fought off the attacker and forced him to flee.

The man apparently selects his victims carefully, said Cmdr. Linda Beardslee of the Police Department’s sexual assault task force. He appears to know that the women live alone and leave doors and windows unlocked.

Police don’t have a detailed description because he covers his face or the faces of his victims. He is 5 feet 9 to 6 feet tall, with an average build, LeBaron said. He does not use a weapon and seems to know the area well because he always manages to elude police.

His victims have ranged in age from 32 to 80. In Los Alamitos, the same night he attacked a 72-year-old, another woman fought him off nearby.

Minutes after receiving the call on Thursday’s attack, police with patrol cars, dogs and helicopters blocked off a perimeter around the victim’s home and scoured the city.

They abandoned the search after about six hours.

Beardslee asked the public to scrutinize friends, husbands, co-workers and acquaintances for any fresh scratches on their faces, arms or bodies.

“Look at people you know,” she said. “There’s somebody out there with these telltale scratches.”

Police ask that anyone with information on this or any other attack call the sexual assault hotline at (866) 600-1110.