The FBI posted a new wanted poster across electronic billboards in Maryland, Virginia, Connecticut, and Rhode Island, where the attacks and attempts have occurred, as well as in New Jersey, New York, and Delaware.
A website, eastcoastrapist.com, went live to publicize the case and collect tips on the case.
FBI: Wacky nicknames nab bank robbers; Pony Tail bandit on the run
The East Coast Rapist attacked his first victim in February 1997 in a Maryland suburb of Washington D.C. and has committed at least 11 more attacks or attempted attacks since then. The female victims have been white, black, and Hispanic. The rapist generally approaches victims outdoors on foot and threatens them with a weapon-usually a knife or a handgun. He sometimes wears a black mask or hooded sweatshirt to conceal his face. He typically asks for money, giving victims the impression they are being robbed. But after the assault, no robbery occurs. The rapist's last known attack was in Woodbridge, Va. on Halloween in 2009. All of the attacks have been linked by DNA, according to the FBI
The FBI is hoping its national digital billboard network can help catch this guy.
The digital billboards are part of the FBI successful nationwide effort to nab criminals by splashing their mugshots on over 1,500 public screens in 40 states for millions of citizens to see. Since its inception in 2007, at least 39 cases have been solved as a direct result of digital billboard publicity, and many others have been solved through the overall publicity efforts that included the billboards, the FBI stated.
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