Teacher Is Held in 2 Rape Cases
Detectives believe that a schoolteacher charged Tuesday with drugging and sexually assaulting two women could be a serial rapist after seizing photographs of naked women from his home.
Werner Heinrich Carpenter, 48, was arrested about 7 a.m. at his home in Tarzana and charged with 12 felony counts related to drug-induced sexual assaults on the women he allegedly met in the west San Fernando Valley last year.
Carpenter, who teaches at a private middle school that police declined to name, was being held in lieu of $600,000 bail at the Van Nuys Jail. Police said he also used the name Henry Carpenter.
Sex crime detectives who served a search warrant on Carpenter’s apartment recovered digital photos of nude, unconscious women other than the two known victims, said Officer Jason Lee of the Los Angeles Police Department.
“We are appealing for these additional victims to come forward to help with the investigation,” Lee said. “We will protect their identities.”
Lee said detectives believe Carpenter frequented bars in the West Valley and might have targeted women he picked up there. Investigators would not say how he allegedly drugged them.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
