Elusive Rapist Sparks Fear in Santa Ana

The first two rapes came a month apart, so hardly anyone in the downtown Santa Ana neighborhood even noticed. But by the fourth rape, Erika Raygoza stopped going out alone after dark.

“Now if I have to go to the store to get diapers for our son, my husband comes with me,” said Raygoza, 19. “You know this guy is out there and anything can happen.”

On Monday, it did. The seventh assault attributed to a serial rapist who has terrorized women in Santa Ana since July has heightened fears here, leading women of all ages to double-check locks on doors and alter their daily routines.

But these days nothing in the working-class neighborhood of boxy apartment buildings and old bungalows off 17th Street is routine, as the brazen rapist continues to strike, eluding a 30-officer task force that’s hunting him.

The usual sidewalk procession of children strolling home from school and mothers pushing carts filled with groceries is being joined by groups of uniformed police officers handing out fliers and seeking clues.

Meanwhile, residents are taking precautions.

“I used to come here at 5 o’clock,” Lila Rivas, 56, said on her morning walk around the track at Santa Ana College. “But it’s dark then, and I was scared, so now I’m coming at 7. There are more people here then.”

The streets at night feel more menacing these days in a way many have not seen since police beat back a large gang problem a few years back. The recent drop in gang violence gave residents peace of mind--until now.

Teresa Farias is even uncomfortable walking the 20 yards to her car in the parking lot of the Saint Joseph Ballet where she works. So now she and her female co-workers walk out in pairs. “I’m not always very careful about that stuff. I am now,” she said.

Farias also warned her 18-year-old daughter to be wary when she leaves school and work at night--even though they’re miles away in Irvine and Costa Mesa. “I was trying to make an impact on her. But you know teenagers. She said ‘OK, mom, I got it. I’ll be careful.’ But I still worry about her.”

Awareness of Rapist Has Spread Slowly

Recognition of the danger has surfaced slowly here. Some say they hadn’t heard of the rapist until fliers with a sketch of the suspect began to pop up in the last couple of weeks. Others say their first hint of the crimes came Monday morning, when they saw a police search helicopter flying overhead.

“I heard about a serial rapist, but I didn’t know he was in my neighborhood,” said Dianne Kemp, 46, as she took a morning stroll. “I guess I shouldn’t be walking at night. I usually do.”

Yohana Lua, 16, heard about the attacks two days ago. “Now all my friends are talking about it.”

On Monday night, just hours after the latest victim was attacked at the Heritage Village apartments, Lua’s cousin was approached by a man at a bus stop near the college. He asked where she was going, where she was getting off, where she lived. “She said it was weird because he didn’t get on the bus when she did,” Lua said. Her cousin got off near Santa Ana police headquarters and made a beeline to Lua’s house. Lua’s mother drove her home.

Police on Tuesday continued to follow leads and fan out through the neighborhood. But no new developments were reported. Sgt. Raul Luna said he hopes the heavy police presence is helping residents cope.

“They’re certainly happy to see the uniform people around,” Luna said. “They’re very concerned. We just had some questions from the kids if the rapist was still around. . . . People seem to be aware of what’s going on.”

On Tuesday, Maria Aguilar, 34, found herself worried about the most mundane chore: walking from her apartment to the coin-operated laundry on 17th Street, which runs through the area targeted by the rapist. Her husband drove her and waited as she washed clothes.

“I don’t leave home too early or come home too late,” Aguilar said. All the women in her complex feel the same. “They have fear,” Aguilar said. “They are afraid to leave the house.”

After watching coverage of the latest assault on the late news, Michele Morrisey made sure the doors and windows of her Floral Park home were locked tight.

“We have a very safe neighborhood,” said Morrisey, who is running for a seat on the Santa Ana City Council. “But last night, I felt very threatened. This could happen to any one of us, anywhere, at any time. It’s already happened to seven women, and that’s seven women too many.”

At Heritage Village, a sprawling maze of stucco apartments, Monday’s attack jolted people who are used to trouble in the neighborhood. A few nights ago, several heard gunshots across the street. Cars in the gated complex have been broken into. And as for that gate, it opens and closes all day long and lets anyone who wants to waltz inside.

“This is the last thing you’d expect to happen at your place,” said Lorena Galvez, 15, who shares a two-bedroom apartment with her parents and three siblings.

Fliers with sketches of the suspect are posted around the complex. One was tacked to the wall in the laundry room where the seventh victim was taken at knifepoint.

Galvez held a flier on which someone had scrawled, “Struck again this Tuesday night in 17th Street.” Old news now.

“My dad says we’re going to move out,” Galvez said. “We just don’t feel safe here anymore.”