Man Police Say Raped 7 Women Still at Large

Police released a composite drawing Tuesday of the man they say is responsible for at least seven rapes across the San Fernando Valley since March, including an attack in which a woman was raped in front of her 8-year-old son.

The serial rapist is believed to be Latino, African American or of mixed-race descent. He is probably in his 20s or 30s, about 5 feet 9 and 160-170 pounds, said Los Angeles Police Department spokesman Jason Lee. Witnesses have described the attacker as having a shaved head, though with more hair in recent assaults, authorities said.

During the attacks the man wears a knit cap and a bandanna over his face. He typically wears black gloves, black boots and army fatigues and carries a green or multicolored back pack. The suspect is believed responsible for the rapes of seven women between the ages of 21 and 47 since March 29. All the victims were approached while in their cars, which were parked at businesses or in residential areas.

Police say the attacker has been armed with a handgun and in some cases has kidnapped his victims, using their vehicles to drive to a remote location before sexually assaulting them.

The most recent assault occurred July 27 when an attacker forced a 30-year-old woman, who had just left church with her 8-year-old son, to drive from a Topanga Canyon Boulevard parking lot to a secluded location on Owensmouth Street in Canoga Park, where he sexually assaulted her in front of the boy, police said.

Authorities said, the same man had robbed a 53-year-old woman in a parking lot behind a Sherman Way building moments before. Last week, the City Council offered a $25,000 reward for information leading to his arrest and conviction.

Anyone with information about the suspect is asked to call the LAPD at (213) 485-2921.