THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, October 28, 1994 TAG: 9410280574
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B4 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JON FRANK, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NEWPORT NEWS LENGTH: Medium: 68 lines
Police have opened a 24-hour hot line, hoping for tips that will lead them to a man who they think has terrorized young girls in the city's East End since 1990.
The FBI also has been called in on the case, developing a psychological profile of the person who may be responsible for 15 attacks.
At a Thursday morning news conference held at an East End library, Police Chief William F. Corvello said the hot line will remain in operation through Sunday. Corvello urged that all potential clues to the man's identity, or facts about suspected assaults, be passed on to police. Callers may remain anonymous, Corvello said. The hot line number is 247-8661.
``It is crucial that we identify this individual before another young girl is attacked,'' Corvello said. ``Please keep in mind that any information could play a part in completing the puzzle.''
Corvello said the hot line will be ``staffed around the clock by case detectives, people who have been with the case since its inception.''
It is the latest attempt by police to catch the person who has eluded authorities since the first attacks on schoolgirls were reported in 1990. Three task forces have tried unsuccessfully to put an end to the sexual assaults. Earlier this year, Newport News Shipbuilding offered a $10,000 reward for information leading the arrest of the man. Crime Line also is offering a $1,000 reward.
The assaults have occurred at all times of the day, said Lt. Lynn Pearson of the Newport News Police Department. The victims - ranging in age from 8 to 17 - have been going to or returning from school, Pearson said.
None of the girls was raped. Most were assaulted physically and in some cases were fondled, Pearson said.
The latest attack was on Sept. 21 in the 1300 block of 26th St., about 6:25 a.m. The 14-year-old victim was heading to school when she was pulled into an alleyway and assaulted.
The suspect is described as a black male between the ages of 28 and 30. He weighs between 155 and 170 pounds and is between 5 feet 9 inches and 5 feet 11 inches tall.
Corvello said the FBI has predicted that the suspect is a social misfit who is withdrawn, timid and would be considered by others to be a loner. The FBI profile indicates the suspect probably lives near the crime scenes and has significant ties to the community, including relatives.
``We feel that there may well be someone in the community who knows the individual who has been making the attacks and has information we could use,'' Corvello said.
Pearson said most of the attacks have occurred in 1990 and 1991, and in May of 1994. One occurred in the Aqueduct housing project in Denbigh. All of the others were in the city's East End.
Police believe the two years when the attacks stopped might have occurred because the suspect was in jail or in a mental institution or had been sent by family members to live elsewhere.
Pearson said it also is possible that the attacks continued but were not reported.
That is what the Rev. Marcellus Harris believes. Harris, pastor of the First Baptist Church-Morrison, has been active in urging more police attention be paid to the assaults.
``I think there have been many more assaults,'' Harris said. ``I'm appealing to everyone to really call this hot line.'' by CNB