Return to Transcripts main page

American Morning

Possible Serial Rapist Sought in Miami

Aired June 12, 2003 - 07:07   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Miami police in Florida are searching for a serial rapist who may be preying on school-aged girls. DNA evidence links a single attacker now to the rapes of two children and two adults. In the past month, three children, who were home alone after school, have been attacked. Police are even more concerned now because schools have closed for the summer as of yesterday.
Lieutenant Bill Schwartz of the Miami Police Department is our guest to talk more about this.

Lieutenant, good morning there.

LT. BILL SCHWARTZ, MIAMI POLICE: Good morning.

HEMMER: What is your focus today in finding and tracking down this man?

SCHWARTZ: Well, one thing is for sure, this community is galvanized in this manhunt. It's like the Miami Police Department has doubled in size, because we have citizens out on the street on practically every street corner serving as our eyes and our ears. We have firefighters out there. We have sanitation workers. We even had retired cops coming back to help in this manhunt.

HEMMER: Yes, Lieutenant, you've described this man as a burglar. How is he getting into these homes?

SCHWARTZ: A couple of different ways. He either talks his way in. In one case, he knocked on the door. The little girl, 11-year- old girl looked out the window and thought it was a relative, so she opened the door. It turned out it wasn't a relative. He grabbed her by the neck, he threw her down and he violated her several times. Another time, he would just wait for the child outside of the house. As she went in, he would come in with her. And the latest time, he was actually in the house when the victim got home.

HEMMER: There is a range of victims that's been described to us, ranging from 11 to 79. What explains this wide disparity in age?

SCHWARTZ: Well, he's an indiscriminate brute, predator. He's ripped the innocence away from three young children. He's forever changed the lives of these three women. This one 79-year-old woman wouldn't hurt a fly, totally defenseless. This guy is a coward, and he's hitting people who are vulnerable.

HEMMER: This is in the area of the Shenandoah neighborhood. I believe that's southwestern Miami. What can you tell us about it? SCHWARTZ: Well, it's a mostly residential area, but, you know, we're not even confining it completely to that neighborhood, because, as with any criminal, he's mobile. So, we want the whole community to be on the alert, and we believe the whole community is on alert. I don't think this guy can walk outside without being noticed. We're bringing a lot of people in just because they look like him, so this is a very, very serious manhunt.

HEMMER: Lieutenant, there are some reports that indicate this man may have raped a woman back in September of last year, and that the police department was slow to connect that case to the current cases. How do you respond to that criticism?

SCHWARTZ: Well, I don't believe that it's criticism. First off, in this particular case now with the children, that was our main focus. We thought we had a child rapist, someone who was focusing on children, so that's where our focus was, and indeed he was. But then to expand our horizons, we starred looking at older cases and older cases, and we started checking out more DNA results. And then that showed us just how far and why this investigation has gone.

And, you know, we have six victims now, but, you know, rape is a very underreported crime. It's very possible that there are more out there.

HEMMER: School is out. In a word or two, how concerned are you right now with more kids at home?

SCHWARTZ: Very concerned. The thought is coming back to us again and again about a child or anyone, particularly a child, though, being stuck in their home, their safe haven, and having this monster jump on them and no one there to help them. So, we're telling parents, you know, if your children are home for the summer, make sure they have something to do, make sure there is someone with them. Better yet, get them into a camp, some sort of activity. A lot of people say they can't afford that, but there are a lot of free camps out there. There are free activities. Get your kids involved and don't let them walk home alone.

HEMMER: Great advice. Good luck, Lieutenant. Bill Schwartz there in Miami.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.







Aired June 12, 2003 - 07:07   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Miami police in Florida are searching for a serial rapist who may be preying on school-aged girls. DNA evidence links a single attacker now to the rapes of two children and two adults. In the past month, three children, who were home alone after school, have been attacked. Police are even more concerned now because schools have closed for the summer as of yesterday.
Lieutenant Bill Schwartz of the Miami Police Department is our guest to talk more about this.

Lieutenant, good morning there.

LT. BILL SCHWARTZ, MIAMI POLICE: Good morning.

HEMMER: What is your focus today in finding and tracking down this man?

SCHWARTZ: Well, one thing is for sure, this community is galvanized in this manhunt. It's like the Miami Police Department has doubled in size, because we have citizens out on the street on practically every street corner serving as our eyes and our ears. We have firefighters out there. We have sanitation workers. We even had retired cops coming back to help in this manhunt.

HEMMER: Yes, Lieutenant, you've described this man as a burglar. How is he getting into these homes?

SCHWARTZ: A couple of different ways. He either talks his way in. In one case, he knocked on the door. The little girl, 11-year- old girl looked out the window and thought it was a relative, so she opened the door. It turned out it wasn't a relative. He grabbed her by the neck, he threw her down and he violated her several times. Another time, he would just wait for the child outside of the house. As she went in, he would come in with her. And the latest time, he was actually in the house when the victim got home.

HEMMER: There is a range of victims that's been described to us, ranging from 11 to 79. What explains this wide disparity in age?

SCHWARTZ: Well, he's an indiscriminate brute, predator. He's ripped the innocence away from three young children. He's forever changed the lives of these three women. This one 79-year-old woman wouldn't hurt a fly, totally defenseless. This guy is a coward, and he's hitting people who are vulnerable.

HEMMER: This is in the area of the Shenandoah neighborhood. I believe that's southwestern Miami. What can you tell us about it? SCHWARTZ: Well, it's a mostly residential area, but, you know, we're not even confining it completely to that neighborhood, because, as with any criminal, he's mobile. So, we want the whole community to be on the alert, and we believe the whole community is on alert. I don't think this guy can walk outside without being noticed. We're bringing a lot of people in just because they look like him, so this is a very, very serious manhunt.

HEMMER: Lieutenant, there are some reports that indicate this man may have raped a woman back in September of last year, and that the police department was slow to connect that case to the current cases. How do you respond to that criticism?

SCHWARTZ: Well, I don't believe that it's criticism. First off, in this particular case now with the children, that was our main focus. We thought we had a child rapist, someone who was focusing on children, so that's where our focus was, and indeed he was. But then to expand our horizons, we starred looking at older cases and older cases, and we started checking out more DNA results. And then that showed us just how far and why this investigation has gone.

And, you know, we have six victims now, but, you know, rape is a very underreported crime. It's very possible that there are more out there.

HEMMER: School is out. In a word or two, how concerned are you right now with more kids at home?

SCHWARTZ: Very concerned. The thought is coming back to us again and again about a child or anyone, particularly a child, though, being stuck in their home, their safe haven, and having this monster jump on them and no one there to help them. So, we're telling parents, you know, if your children are home for the summer, make sure they have something to do, make sure there is someone with them. Better yet, get them into a camp, some sort of activity. A lot of people say they can't afford that, but there are a lot of free camps out there. There are free activities. Get your kids involved and don't let them walk home alone.

HEMMER: Great advice. Good luck, Lieutenant. Bill Schwartz there in Miami.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.