Girl Attacked in Bed by Man With a Knife

SIMI VALLEY —  A knife-wielding man who attacked a 17-year-old girl in her bed Wednesday is believed to be the serial rapist who has prowled the streets of this city for more than four years, police said Thursday.

The age of the victim, the weapon used and the timing and location of the attack are similar to the other unsolved cases of attempted sexual assault and rape, Simi Valley Police Sgt. Bob Gardner said.

Authorities said the latest victim, the 12th since the summer of 1996, awoke just before midnight Wednesday to find a man in her bedroom. The assailant, who apparently entered the room through a window, climbed on top of the girl and held a knife to her face as he held her down, police said.

Although told not to scream, the girl did so anyway, and the man fled through the back door of the home near Royal Avenue and 1st Street. The teen was not sexually assaulted, and police are describing the incident as a burglary with intent to rape.

Following the attack, police searched large areas of the city, aided by a helicopter from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. The lights at intersections for miles around were turned to flashing red as scores of officers stopped or slowed vehicles in a search for the attacker.

“There were cops everywhere, undercover cops, police cars, motorcycle cops--you hardly ever see them at night,” said Mindy McQuillen, 18, who was heading east on Los Angeles Avenue during the dragnet.

No arrests were made, and residents expressed renewed alarm Thursday that the rapist remains at large.

“I can’t believe this has been going on for so long,” said Sather Charron, a cashier at a health food store on Los Angeles Avenue. “God, it’s so scary.”

Peter Ruiz, a graphic artist who lives in the neighborhood where the latest attack occurred, said he was concerned for his 13-year-old daughter’s safety.

“God, this guy must be slick, must be cunning,” said Ruiz, 47. “He had a great escape path set up.”

The assailant’s victims have been young women and girls ranging from the mid-teens to mid-20s.

Police believe the rapist selects his victims and then studies their habits, often attacking them after they had gone to bed.

In March, a woman fought off a masked, knife-wielding attacker about 11 p.m., while another woman was forced from her home at knifepoint about 5:30 a.m. and raped.

Most of the victims have described the assailant as a white male, between 17 and 25 years old, 5 feet, 5 inches to 5 feet, 8 inches tall with a medium build.

The latest victim was not able to describe the attacker’s race.

“Descriptions of someone given by a victim after a traumatic experience can vary,” Gardner said. “That was her immediate description, but after she has a chance to calm down and think about it, who knows?”

Gardner declined to discuss any leads police are pursuing.

“This is a very important case, and we’re not going to endanger it,” he said.

In other cases, investigators have matched genetic material obtained from victims.

Gardner recommended that residents install motion-detection lighting and warned women to lock their doors and windows at night despite the heat. The latest victim had locked her window, but it was an older model and the assailant pushed it open, he said.

Gardner said the assailant so far has been smart, or lucky.

“He could have been confronted by someone other than a helpless female,” he said.

Indeed, upon hearing of the latest attack, Julie Verdon, a 37-year-old expectant mother who lives in the neighborhood, called her husband, Matthew, at work and said, “It’s time to get the shotgun out of the safe.”

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Times staff writer Tina Dirmann and Times Community News Reporter Mike McCarthy contributed to this report.