Shore rapist linked to another attack

By Mike Kilroy
Summer Forty-Niner

The Belmont Shore rapist has been tied to an attack last month in Huntington Beach, according to the Long Beach Police Department, the first time the serial rapist has been linked to an attack outside the city of Long Beach.

LBPD spokeswoman Jana Blair said physical evidence linked the June 11 sexual assault to at least six others in Long Beach over the past three years.

Several occurred in the Belmont Shore and Belmont Heights area of Long Beach.

As in previous attacks, the Huntington Beach assault involved a man entering through an unlocked window or door.  According to Blair, the man entered the victim's home in the Pacific Trailer Park through a window shortly after 1 a.m.

Huntington Beach Police Department spokeswoman Suzie Wajda said the victim told officers the man appeared to be dark-skinned and 6-foot tall with a medium build. LBPD has not released a description of the rapist because descriptions have varied, Blair said.

The last attack of the rapist confirmed by police occurred in March in the College Park Estates neighborhood across Seventh Street from Cal State Long
Beach. LBPD bloodhounds traced a scent to the campus dorms the night of the rape.

Blair said people should lock their doors and windows at night and immediately report any suspicious or unknown persons in their neighborhoods to Long Beach police, including solicitors who appear suspicious or seem to be checking out the neighborhood.

Long Beach residents seeing suspicious persons should contact the LBPD at (562) 435-6711; Huntington Beach residents can contact HBPD at (714) 375-5066.