Police have been unable to find the “East Coast Rapist,” whose attacks have spanned 13 years, beginning in Prince George’s County, Md., adjacent to Washington, D.C., in the late 1990s, moving into Virginia and then up to New England, reports the Washington Post. The most recent rapes were on Halloween in Dale City, Va., also near Washington, when he forced three trick-or-treating teenage girls into a wooded ravine at gunpoint. That was the closest police have come to finding him. The attacks showed them that he’s brasher than ever.
“He is a very bold, fearless predator,” said Sgt. Kim Chinn, a Prince William County police spokeswoman. “The concern is that he’s out there, he’s not going to stop until he’s caught and the violence could get worse.” Police detectives and five of the rapist’s victims cooperated with the Post to help identify and catch him before he attacks again. Some victims, parents themselves, said they were willing to discuss their attacks because the man raped teenagers. “Somebody’s going to know who’s been in Prince George’s, who’s been in Fairfax [County, Va.], who went to Connecticut,” said Lt. Bruce Guth, who leads Fairfax County’s cold-case squad. “The bastard’s right there. We just need that one phone call. Somebody knows this guy.”