Police: Route 28 attacker in Middleboro not a serial rapist

From the Brockton Enterprise:

Authorities say Route 28 attack was not work of serial rapist

By Alice C. Elwell
ENTERPRISE CORRESPONDENT
Posted Apr 10, 2009 @ 12:30 AM
MIDDLEBORO —

National reports of a bizarre attack on Route 28 in Middleboro have spurred a flurry of e-mails warning that a rapist is on the loose, but police say they consider the March 27 assault to be an isolated incident.

“We’re not of the opinion it’s a serial rapist,” said Lt. Bruce D. Gates.

While leads have been slim, Gates said his department is doing a full investigation into the March 27 assault on a Weymouth woman.

A cellphone call alerted police that a car was on the side of Route 28, a short distance away from the state police barracks. The woman was found unconscious and hanging out of her car after being beaten and sexually attacked.

The lead investigator, Detective Robert W. Lake, said the time frame of the attack was pinpointed by a surveillance tape that showed her car going through an intersection near a supermarket. The victim, 45, told police her blue Mercury Marquis was hit from behind and when she pulled over, her attacker leaped into her car and knocked her unconscious.

The attack took place between 4:30 p.m. and 4:43 p.m., when police estimate there’s a car every seven seconds in that location.

The suspect’s vehicle was described as a dark-colored sedan.

The following week, cars were stopped and police handed out 600 fliers to drivers during the same time period, in the hope that someone remembered seeing the attack.

Gates said there have been several tips, but nothing has led to an arrest.

Anyone who may have witnessed the attack is asked to call 508-923-INFO (4636).

Meanwhile, the incident has gained national attention. “America’s Most Wanted” posted it on the TV program’s Web site. Now, people are circulating e-mails detailing the incident and warning women there’s a serial rapist on the loose who supposedly had already struck in Raynham and Carver.

Gates said there was an incident in Raynham last year, but it has not been linked to the March 27 attack in Middleboro, and he’s unaware of a similar incident in Carver.

Raynham investigators turned over all information to Middleboro detectives about the incident reported six months ago involving a woman in that town, Raynham Police Chief Louis J. Pacheco said.

However, the chief cautioned the public not to draw a link between the two cases at this time, noting police departments throughout the region would send information about any similar incidents to Middleboro on the chance there might be a connection.

“We immediately forwarded everything to Middleboro,” Pacheco said.

The Raynham case occurred in the central part of Raynham at night, he said. He declined to release any specifics of the case, noting it remained under investigation.

Gates says it’s a very bizarre incident. “You don’t get cases like this very often,” he said.

Special thanks to both newspapers for dispelling the rumors and calming the concern the emails have generated so quickly.