Columbus, OH UPDATED 9/5/07

9/5/07

Man Sought in Three East Side Rapes

WBNS Channel 10
The suspect in the cases is described as a black man in his 20s or 30s, who is between 5 feet 8 and 6 feet 3 inches tall. Police said he weighs approximately 175 to 195 pounds. Witnesses said the man was bald and clean-shaven.
An investigation at the Bel Air Court apartment complex kicked into high gear last month when a woman was raped, and another resident caught a man peeking through a window.
The complex is located on Beverly Hills Drive near Broad Street and Interstate 270.
After the crimes were reported in August, police who patrol the area said they noticed similarities with previous crimes dating back to 2005, An reported.
According to Sgt. David Pelphrey with the Columbus police Special Victims Unit, the crime and suspect descriptions matched two other rapes that occurred in the same area.
Authorities also believe the suspect is linked to at least one burglary.

Columbus Dispatch
A serial rapist might be prowling an East Side apartment complex, police say.
Detectives say the man behind two rapes and a burglary at the Bel Air Court apartments in 2005 might have struck the complex again, after a two-year absence.
Police said a woman was raped in her apartment on July 22 in an attack that closely resembles the 2005 rapes. On Aug. 9, another tenant ran off a prowler who had been watching his wife from their back patio.