SVG women living in fear of serial rapist

Women here are living in fear over the serial rapist said to be on the loose, but they are also taking steps to enhance their security.{{more}}

As police continue the hunt for the suspected rapist who has been on the prowl for months and maybe even as much as two years, hardware stores in Kingstown confirm that many women are taking practical safety steps.

“Women come in and a lot of latches and bolts have been sold,” said a cashier at the PH Veira hardware department in Kingstown.

“Some (women) make sure they ask what are the best bolts and things like that,” she said.

“In recent weeks I have seen it. Many women come inquiring about bolts, and they are actually saying that they want to feel safer because of the rapist,” a salesman at Sprotts Brothers said.

A salesman at ACE hardware told SEARCHLIGHT that they have brought in a new, simple, window alarm product that has been simulating some interest also.

This type of response is what Dr Amrie Morris-Patterson, a physician attached to the Mental Health Hospital, says will help to ease the obvious anxiety that news of a rapist will cause.

She told SEARCHLIGHT that she expects many women to be in a state of hyper-vigilance, and suffer from acute anxiety and insomnia.

“You see, it isn’t an imagined threat. It is a real threat. The underlining cause of the anxiety is real, which makes it worse,” Dr Morris-Patterson said.

She told SEARCHLIGHT that this is why it is important that women do practical things to help ease the feeling of anxiety.

“Secure your place properly, having someone stay with you, things like that will help to decrease the level of fear,” she said.

She said that it is important to note that even if a woman has not been raped, the knowledge of the threat can have serious effects on them.

“When you have a small country like this and someone is doing those things in a small area and they are not being caught…”

Several women interviewed by SEARCHLIGHT last Wednesday bore witness to Dr Morris-Patterson’s opinion.

“I can’t even sleep. I just keep jumping out of my sleep and go checking doors and windows, I can’t get a good night sleep,” said a woman in her 30s living at Glen.

One professional in her 40s said that she is afraid to sleep in her own house, and has been sleeping at relatives’ homes.

“That story (about the rapist) has me living in bondage,” a young lady in her 20s living at Arnos Vale told SEARCHLIGHT.

“Before I go to sleep I jack up my door with a chair, something has to be done about that man…I make sure I always have my cell phone close to me and make sure it has credit,” she further stated.

“I can’t sleep half the nights, I done ask my landlord to put in burglar bars,” said another young lady who lives at Sharpes.

She told SEARCHLIGHT that while the rapist is not said to be operating in Sharpes, “you don’t know when one person starts and others go want to follow suit.”

“It make me more vigilant…I sleep with a knife under my pillow,” said a Dorsetshire Hill resident.

Meanwhile police investigators say that investigations into the incidents of rape and sexual assault continue.

One senior police officer told SEARCHLIGHT that they have been receiving information on any strange person seen in the various communities and are working tirelessly to bring to perpetrator(s) of the dastardly acts to justice.

Despite rumours to the contrary, police say that they have not held anyone in connection the rape cases.

A man who was recently picked up in the Arnos Vale area turned out to be a mentally ill man of Campden Park, who was held and beaten by residents who accused him of being the rapist.

The knife wielding rapist who is being hunted is believed to be responsible for 20 or so cases of sexual assault or rape in the areas between Arnos Vale, Fountain, Fairhall, and Villa over the last few months.

Police believe that the same man may have committed similar crimes in 2006, when SEARCHLIGHT’s December 8, 2006, issue reported that a serial rapist was on the loose.

“We believe it is the same person,” Commissioner Keith Miller said in an interview with SEARCHLIGHT a few weeks ago.

The man is believed to be targeting women who live alone or with very small children.