Atlanta police have arrested a Midtown man in connection with the investigation of a string of sexual assaults on women in the Buckhead area since August, but they have not charged him with any of the crimes.
Police have refused to release the man’s identity, only saying he was taken into custody at his condo on unrelated arrest warrants. A tipster led police to him after seeing media reports of the most recent assault March 12 at an apartment in the 900 block of Canterbury Road.
A car linked to the attempted abduction of a woman early March 12 has been recovered.
“I have no doubt that this man is a predator,” said Lt. James Roey, who heads the Special Victims Unit, which investigates sex crimes.
Detectives are investigating whether he committed at least four attacks on women since August — at least three of them in Buckhead.
Most of the attacks were at gated apartment complexes, and the attacker appeared careful to avoid leaving evidence behind, wearing gloves and condoms, according to police reports.
On Aug. 18 at 3:30 a.m., a man accosted a 21-year-old woman walking to her apartment in a Buckhead complex on 26th Street. As she opened a stairwell door, the man came from behind, wrapped a towel around her head and pushed a gun in her back, according to a police report. He walked her to a pool area and forced her to get into a fountain and remove her pants before he fondled her.
On Oct. 27, a man wearing a mask jumped from behind a vehicle on Armour Drive in Buckhead and put a gun to the face of a 40-year-old woman, according to a police report. He struck her several times in the head with the gun and forced her to the end of a hallway, where he put a sock in her mouth, duct-taped her hands together, and fondled and raped her.
At 9 a.m. Dec. 30, at an apartment complex in the 4400 block of Northside Parkway, a 24-year-old woman on her way to work was accosted from behind by a man who forced her into her garage. He put duct tape over her mouth, threw a pillow over her head and raped her, according to a police report.
On March 12, a young woman leaving her apartment on Canterbury Road warded off the attacker by fighting back, Roey said. After the attack, police warned the public to watch out for the man.
— John Schaffner