Police Arrest Suspect in Westside Rapist Assault Cases

Police have arrested a 20-year-old man they believe is the so-called Westside Rapist responsible for a string of sexual assaults in Palms, Santa Monica and Venice neighborhoods, officials said Tuesday.

Jelani Efron King of Los Angeles was taken into custody about 7 p.m. Monday by a multi-agency task force headed by the Los Angeles Police Department. Authorities said physical evidence, including DNA, so far links King to six of seven sexual assaults blamed on the Westside Rapist.

King is also suspected of committing up to 40 other crimes since October, including several burglaries, assaults and prowling incidents near UCLA.

LAPD Chief Bernard C. Parks called the arrest a “fantastic bit of police work” in which detectives spent thousands of hours investigating “400 clues.” But he declined to reveal what clues actually led detectives to make the arrest.

For months, residents in some parts of West Los Angeles were shaken by accounts of the serial rapist. Some considered moving; others said they avoided going out alone at night and took extra safety precautions at home.

The Los Angeles City Council offered a $25,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the assailant.

According to police, the Westside Rapist preyed on single women in their 30s and 40s and was becoming more violent with each attack.

At a news conference at police headquarters, Mayor Richard Riordan--flanked by other politicians and law enforcement leaders--hailed the arrest of a man who, he said, “terrorized Angelenos in the dark of night. . . . The women of the Westside can sleep better tonight knowing that the [alleged] Westside Rapist is behind bars.”

Residents had praise for law enforcement officials and expressed a sigh of relief.

“This was a great example of cooperation across several different law enforcement agencies--their collaboration solved this case,” said Gail Abarbanel, director of the Rape Treatment Center at the Santa Monica/UCLA Medical Center. “They deserve recognition and appreciation.”

“The solution to these [types of] rapes is not to focus exclusively on telling women what to do to protect themselves,” she added. “We need to focus on the rapists who are committing these crimes.”

Babak Naficy, who lives near La Brea Avenue and Adams Boulevard but has been staying with his mother in the Palms district because he was concerned for her safety, said he was “delighted” by the arrest.

“I’m really glad that people can walk the streets and not be worried,” Naficy said. “On the other hand, I hope people don’t completely let their guards down and become careless.”

Residents had their hopes raised and than dashed earlier this month, when Inglewood police shot and killed a man who they suspected might have been linked to sexual assaults. But two days later, on the evening of April 5, another woman was attacked in Palms--in the same block where a woman had been raped March 26.

Police suspect that the assailant’s first sexual attack occurred in December in Santa Monica. In February, two women were attacked in Venice and one in Palms. On March 18, another Santa Monica woman was assaulted.

“These horrible crimes created a climate of profound fear,” said City Councilman Mike Feuer, who represents some of communities that had been victimized.

In response, the LAPD created a special task force, headed by the department’s Robbery/Homicide detectives. The task force also included officials from the Santa Monica Police Department, the UCLA Campus Police and the state Department of Justice’s sexual predator team.

Investigators worked late and on weekends to crack the case. Hundreds of hours were spent on surveillance of potential suspects. The LAPD’s Special Investigation Section, which tracks some of the city’s most violent criminals, was called in to follow possible suspects.

Police did not release a photograph of King on Tuesday because the investigation is still continuing. But Parks said the suspect “strongly resembles” a composite sketch of the assailant that was released last month.

At that time, the Westside Rapist was described as an African American man between 20 and 30 years old, 5 feet 8 to 5 feet 10 inches tall and weighing 150 to 180 pounds, with short hair.

Police officials are expected to present their case against King to the district attorney’s office today for the filing of criminal charges. King is expected to be arraigned on those charges this afternoon.