Last update - 00:00 25/03/2008
Police believe they may have captured Bnei Brak serial rapist
By Roni Singer-Heruti, Haaretz Correspondent
Police suspect that a man arrested for sexual assault on Sunday may be the serial rapist who has raped at least two women in Bnei Brak in recent months.
The suspect, a 33-year-old Lod resident, greatly resembles description
provided by the rape victims of their assailant, police said, and his alleged assault on another woman in Bnei Brak Sunday night resembled the serial rapist's modus operandi.
Sunday's incident occurred close to midnight, when two women in their twenties were walking home. Suddenly, a man barred their path and touched the breast of one of them. Both women screamed and fled in different directions, and the assailant followed one of them to the entrance of her house. When she began to ascend the stairs, he grabbed her from behind, threw her down the stairs, and attempted to sexually assault her.
The girl's screams summoned her father and brothers, which caused the
assailant to flee. But they gave chase, caught him and held him until the
police arrived.
According to the Dan District police, there have been several unsolved sex crimes in Bnei Brak in recent months, including the two rapes noted above, and they intend to investigate whether the suspect was involved in any or all of them.
The suspect, who has no police record, claimed to be suffering from
psychological problems, and the Tel Aviv Magistrate's Court therefore ordered him sent for psychiatric evaluation on Monday. It also ordered him to be held for four days.
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