Police: Fairmount Park rapist is back

Police have released an updated sketch of a man believed to be the Fairmount Park rapist - who apparently struck again on Aug. 11 after an almost four-year layoff.

The rapist - described as a Hispanic man who one witness said was overheard to mention family in Puerto Rico - is suspected in three attacks on women in the park in 2003, including the murder of 30-year-old medical student Rebecca Park on July 13, 2003.

Each of the victims was jogging or walking alone in secluded areas of the park when attacked.

The latest rape was of a 29-year-old woman who was walking in Pennypack Park when a man grabbed her from behind, dragged her into bushes, raped and robbed her.

Chief Inspector Keith Sadler, head of the detective bureau, said evidence collected at the scene of the latest attack and processed by the forensic laboratory indicates a link with the previous rapes.

He released the new sketch yesterday at a news conference that included Chief Inspector John Darby, of the Special Victims Unit, outside police headquarters.

Sadler said all of the victims gave police similar descriptions of their attacker.

He is said to be a Hispanic male between 5-foot-5 and 5-foot-8, with a thin moustache. The latest description gave him a goatee and sideburns, Sadler said.

"And in three of the initial assaults, there were descriptions of a metallic bicycle being used," he said.

Rebecca Park was strangled. The other victims were threatened with knives. A 37-year-old woman who was attacked while jogging near the Falls Bridge in October 2003 suffered stab wounds of the neck, chest and hand as she fought off her attacker.

The other attack, the first one reported, was on April 30, 2003, when a woman was raped at knifepoint at Kelly Drive and Fountain Green Road.

After the 2003 cases, the police combed Hispanic neighborhoods, handing out leaflets, running notices on the radio and taking other steps to get the word out on the suspect whom Sadler called a "monster."

The case was also aired on the TV show "America's Most Wanted."

"This is obviously a crime we are deeply concerned about," Sadler said. "I can assure you we never stopped looking for this male."

Sadler said there was no way to explain the four-year lapse between assaults. He said it's possible the man was in Puerto Rico, since he was overheard to say he had family there.

But Sadler said he was not convinced that the new media attention will deter the rapist.

"There's no way to know if the attention will scare him off," Sadler said.

Darby emphasized that police are hoping for the public's help in catching the killer. He also urged women to be careful about their surroundings and about using music players with earphones while jogging alone. *