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CLEARFIELD — Police used DNA evidence this month to link additional cases to a serial rapist who they say victimized women in Utah and Wyoming in the 1990s and early 2000s.
In all, 10 victims are now DNA linked to the unknown man, with the majority of the known attacks centered in the Clearfield area from 1991 to 2001.
Spearheaded by Clearfield police, a cold case task force comprising of several agencies convened this month to pursue leads, gather tips and identify other targeted women.
Investigators say the serial rapist, who is linked to attacks of women in Layton, Riverdale and Ogden, as well as Rock Springs and Laramie, Wyoming, showed consistent behavior patterns that may lead to finding him.
Detectives received more than 170 tips since asking for the public's help at a news conference at Clearfield's government office complex last week, said Clearfield Police Sgt. Kyle Jeffries.
"Information obtained from the tips are being investigated further, through computer checks, DNA buccal swabs, and other investigative efforts," Jeffries said in a statement Wednesday.
The task force identified five other rape cases possibly linked by motive, Jeffries said. These include two rapes in Provo and one each in Salt Lake, Ogden and Fruit Heights. DNA tests in the Ogden and Fruit Heights cases have been requested.
Information obtained from the tips are being investigated further, through computer checks, DNA buccal swabs, and other investigative efforts.
–Clearfield Police Sgt. Kyle Jeffries
Six other rape victims told police they may have been assaulted by the serial rapist, but there is no evidence so far that their cases are connected, according to Jeffries.
"The new incidents will be investigated further to determine if there is a connection to the rapes currently being investigated by the task force," he said.
The task force is no longer meeting in person, but the cold case investigation is ongoing and information is still being shared between agencies, Jeffries said.
Investigators say they have sought unsuccessfully to solve the connected rapes for a long time but only in recent months has DNA confirmed they were committed by the same man.
The man in question is likely in his 40s to 50s and was in his 20s to 30s while the rapes were occurring, police said earlier this month. He targeted women between 11 and 52 years old, mostly white.
A composite sketch of the serial rapist was released earlier this month. The man is white, between 5 feet 10 inches and 6 feet tall, with light-colored hair. He also sweated profusely during the attacks, according to descriptions given by the victims. He was slender in early cases but later was reported as stocky with a pot belly. He didn't speak with a distinct accent.
Investigators say the man targeted apartments with sliding-glass doors and attacked women while others were elsewhere in the residence. He regularly carried out lengthy sexual assaults while armed with a gun and either a knife or box cutter.
The serial offender reportedly wore a mask and gloves while he blindfolded victims and bound their hands, feet, elbows and knees with clothes or duct tape. Investigators believe he frequently stole money and underwear.
His victims said the man grew violent when they resisted but pretended to care about them if they went along with him.
Police say the man drove a dark-colored, two-door sedan Pontiac Firebird. There were reportedly sheepskin seat covers, a woodgrain-style front dash and a molded armrest in the Firebird's interior. The car used a center-console automatic transmission.
