Archives: Around Nky
Updated: Thursday, July 1, 2004 5:04 PM EDT

Victims say the suspect is white, well-dressed, 30 to 40 years old, six feet or less in height and of medium to stocky build. He has distinctive, bright blue eyes but dresses well, speaks well and often engages his victims in conversation. Composite sketch courtesy FBI and boonecountyky.com

FBI Seeks Suspect in 12-Year Robbery, Assault Spree

By Mike Jennings
ChallengerNKY.com

FORT WRIGHT FBI and local law enforcement officials are seeking new leads in their effort to track down a neatly dressed, well-spoken, blue-eyed man they believe guilty of a string of sexual assaults and robberies stretching back 12 years in the tri-state area.

They say their sense of urgency has grown as the suspect quickens the pace of his crimes against women working alone in stores and restaurants located in strip malls near interstate highways.

William O'Leary, senior resident agent at the FBI's Covington office, said Thursday that officials believe the serial rapist and robber has struck nine times in Kentucky, Ohio and Indiana since February 1992. O'Leary said five of those crimes are linked by forensic evidence, and descriptions by victims in the rest point to the same perpetrator.

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All crimes tied to the suspect occurred between late fall and early spring. Gaps of years separated the first three, but since a robbery and assault in Ohio last November, the suspect is believed to have struck six more times—including three times in Northern Kentucky.

"We are still seeking the public's assistance in seeking this armed and dangerous predator," who threatens his victims with a shiny silver handgun, O'Leary said at a press conference at the Fort Wright police station. He said he hoped people would "search their memory banks" for anyone matching the suspect's description who might often spend the winter months in the tri-state area.

Victims say the suspect is white, well-dressed, 30 to 40 years old, six feet or less in height and of medium to stocky build. O'Leary said he has distinctive, bright blue eyes but dresses well, speaks well and often engages his victims in conversation.

"There's nothing that causes the hair on the back of your neck to stand up when he comes in," O'Leary said.

Fort Wright Police Chief Daniel Kreinest said officials had eliminated several suspects and felt it was time to draw fresh public attention to the case to "see if somebody has something they can contribute."

Kreinest urged local business owners and other residents to study composite sketches of the suspect, available online at www.boonecountyky.org. He said some area businesses have already posted the sketches and it might be a good idea for more to do so.

"I think it would be a little harder for this person to go in (a business) if he sees composites posted right up there," Kreinest said.