By Reporter staff
The Renton Police Department has arrested a suspect – a registered Level 3 sex offender – believed to be responsible for three rapes in the Renton area in the past seven months, according to spokeswoman Penny Bartley.
At a hearing Friday, bail for the 41-year-old Renton man was set at $1 million. Monday is the deadline to file charges against the man.
According to prosecutors, in two of the three attackshe pretended to have a gun. In the third, he used a knife.
The suspect was arrested as a result of evidence collected from an attempted rape that took place just over two weeks ago, according to Bartley.
The suspect was arrested at his home without incident on Wednesday and jailed at Renton Municipal Jail.
In all of the cases, the female victims were approached by the suspect when they were alone.
In one case the suspect asked for bus directions and in another case asked for a ride. In all of the cases the suspect either showed or implied that he had a weapon. In some cases the suspect used the victims to get money in order to obtain drugs after assaulting them.
All of the rapes have occurred in the area of Southwest Sunset Boulevard (which is known as Martin Luther King Way beyond the Renton city limits) and Rainier Avenue South, according to Bartley.
The suspect lived at a nearby apartment complex and the suspect is registered as a Level III sex offender. Renton Police had done a community notification meeting and circulated bulletins regarding the suspect.
Police are concerned that there may be additional victims either in Renton, or in the Rainier Valley area where the suspect previously lived, according to Bartley.
The suspect is described as a light skinned black male, thin build, 5-foot-7 with a scruffy, unshaved face. In all of the cases the suspect was wearing some type of covering on his head, either a cap, a sweatshirt hood, or “doo rag” type cloth, according to Bartley.
Anyone with information regarding any of the sexual assaults is asked to contact Renton Police at (425) 430-7500.
