LAPD: Long-Sought 'Teardrop Rapist' Is Back

Los Angeles police had to issue an awful warning to women in the city today: Don't walk alone. A sexual predator known as the "teardrop rapist" appears to have surfaced again after a years-long absence, reports the Los Angeles Times. The assailant, thought to have at least one teardrop tattoo beneath one of his eyes, is blamed for 28 assaults since 1996, the latest coming in November.

The pattern of attacks is unusual because of two long gaps, one from 2003 to 2006 and another from 2006 until last November. Police unveiled a series of sketches created over the years, not all of which are consistent on the tattoo. DNA evidence has linked at least 11 of the attacks to the same man, generally described as a Hispanic of medium build who is probably in his 40s by now. (More Los Angeles stories.)