Rape Victims Met Attackers Online

Police are investigating at least six rapes that occurred in the last few months in the Temple Hills and Suitland areas. They say the attacks may have been carried out by the same person or people.

The latest assault occurred on Tuesday evening. Police say they responded to the 9100 block of Baltimore Avenue. The victim told them she was attacked after arranging a meeting with a man on a chat line. The victim told police when she met the man he pulled out a handgun and raped her in the building's stairwell before fleeing.

"We want to alert women who are soliciting for sex online to use caution. Stranger rapes are uncommon in the county and all of these were stranger rapes. Descriptions from re-interviewing some witnesses helped us realize the connection, including the fact that several victims met their attacker online," says Maj. Dan Dusseau, commander of the Criminal Investigations Division, in a news release.

Anyone with information about the attacks should call the Prince George's County Police Department's Sexual Assault Unit at 301-772-4908 or Crime Solvers at 1-866-411-TIPS (8477).

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