By NC WANTED Staff

Posted: Aug 12, 2008
Updated: Aug 18, 2008

ORANGE COUNTY — ORANGE COUNTY: It was a cold winter morning. February 19, 2007. A 53-year-old woman dropped off her laundry at a local Laundromat in Chapel Hill. Instead of waiting there, she put on her headphones and used that time to exercise. While making her way down Umstead Road near Bradley Road, she made eye contact with a man walking past.

Moments later in broad daylight, the woman was approached from behind, grabbed at the waist, thrown down toward a creek and into an embankment alongside the road. She realized that it was the same man she had seen on the street.

He pulled down her sweatpants and attempted to rape her, but she kicked and screamed profusely. The suspect tried unsuccessfully several times to keep her quiet. That’s when he forced her to perform oral sex on him. He was soon scared off by the threat of oncoming traffic.

Before the suspect fled the scene, he stole the victim’s change purse and driver’s license, threatening that he now knew where she lived.

The victim went directly to the police station, which was up the road from where the incident took place and filed a report. Authorities did collect some DNA evidence.

The woman described the suspect as a young black male, approximately 18 to 20 years old. He’s about 6-feet-tall with a slender build. At the time, he was wearing navy sweatpants and a thick black coat with tan colored fur around the hood. His hair was cut close to his head and he was clean-shaven.

Wanted for:
Sexual Assault

Profile:
Sex: Male
Race: Black
Age Now: 18 to 20
Height: 6” (slender build)
Hair: Black (cut short, clean-shaven)
Eyes: Brown

If you have information on this man's identity or whereabouts, call NC WANTED toll free at 1.866.43.WANTED (1.866.439.2683) or click on "Report a Tip" Your identity can be kept confidential.
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Is there a link?

Police are still investigating a series of sexually motivated random attacks that happened in the Chapel Hill area after the February assault. They believe the suspect who is responsible for the February incident could be linked to some of these subsequent crimes.

April 27, 2007. 10:30 pm. A 23-year-old white female was leaving the West End Wine Bar on Franklin Street. She was walking in an alley when approached by a man who identified himself as “Larry.” The victim said the suspect shoved her against the wall, ripped off her shirt and pulled down her underwear. He was scared off before having the chance to rape her. She described the suspect as a black male, about 6 feet tall with a slender build. She said the man appeared to be between the ages of 30 and 35 and was bald.

May 14, 2007. 3:40 pm. A 20-year-old white female was walking on Rosemary Street when she was pushed down by 3 to 5 black males. The victim was highly intoxicated at the time of the incident. She woke up in her own bed but does not recall details of what happened or how she ended up at home.

June 17, 2007. 12:00 am. Officers find a 22-year-old white female, bruised, sitting in the parking lot of the BB&T bank on Rosemary Street. She told police a man grabbed her from behind, pushed her against a wall and forced her to perform oral sex. Investigators said because she was intoxicated, she did not remember specific descriptive details of the suspect – only that he was a younger, skinny, black male.

June 20, 2007. 3:00 pm. A 21-year-old white female employee of the Qdoba restaurant on Franklin Street was taking out the trash in a nearby alley. The victim claimed that a man grabbed her from behind and possibly used some sort of chemical that caused her to pass out. When she woke up, she was bleeding and had been sexually assaulted. Unsure of whether or not this man had anything to do with the assault, when she came to her senses, she remembered seeing a short black male, larger build and salt and pepper colored hair walking nearby. He was wearing gloves with the fingers cut out and could have possibly been driving a 4-door black sedan.