City police are stepping up enforcement and warning community groups across the city about a string of rapes over the past two weeks - five during the Halloween weekend alone - some of which investigators believe could be related.
The eight attacks, which police confirmed after receiving inquiries from The Baltimore Sun, stretch back to at least Oct. 20, when a man entered a home in the 1700 block of Barclay St. and hid behind an infant's crib, then bound and gagged a man, and sexually assaulted his girlfriend in front of him.
Police believe that attack might be linked to other break-ins that resulted in sexual assaults, including one that occurred five days later in the 300 block of E. Lafayette St., just two blocks from the Barclay home in the Greenmount West neighborhood.
A separate spate of attacks, involving rapes near bus stops, are also being investigated for common traits, according to police. In one case, a 55-year-old woman was raped after leaving a late-night church event, according to police.
Police were conducting traffic stops in the Harford Avenue area, asking for information, and a deployment of plainclothes officers from the elite Violent Crimes Impact Division has been tasked with assisting in the investigation, according to police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi.
The crime laboratory is also prioritizing evidence connected to the cases, he said.
"A lot of these incidents are crimes of opportunity - robberies, burglaries," Guglielmi said. "We're stressing that people need to be aware of their surroundings, lock their homes and windows, and be mindful when approaching dimly lit areas."
Guglielmi noted police have not definitively connected the rapes to one or a number of assailants, but are investigating links because of similarities. He said a person of interest has been identified in connection with some of the incidents, but he declined to elaborate as police pursue leads.
The rapes were not initially reported to the public by police, either through the media or on its Twitter or Facebook pages. In November 2008, police were criticized after a delay in informing residents about a series of attacks in Mount Vernon.
But Guglielmi said district commanders across the city have been instructed to pass along information to community groups, and that police will continue to conduct traffic stops to elicit information.
Anyone with information is asked to call the police sex offense unit at 410-396-2605.
