This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/england/london/6036013.stm

The article has changed 5 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
New appeal for rapist of elderly Surrender plea to serial rapist
(about 10 hours later)
Police have appealed for fresh information in the hunt for a man they believe is responsible for a series of rapes on elderly women since 1990. Detectives hunting one of the UK's worst serial rapists have made a direct appeal to him to give himself up.
Detectives have linked the suspect to 98 offences, including four rapes and a series of indecent assaults, in and around south-east London. He has been linked through DNA and other forensic evidence, to 98 offences involving the elderly in south-east London since 1990.
Police have made the appeal because attacks often occur in October. While he targets mainly women aged between 68 and 93, officers believe he has also carried out 10 attacks on men.
Scientists say analysis of DNA found at crime scenes suggests the man may be from the Windward Islands. A reward of £40,000 has been offered for information leading to the attacker's arrest and conviction.
'20,000 suspects' Appeal to conscience
Officers are expected to reveal the rapist may be connected to Brighton, says the BBC's home affairs correspondent Danny Shaw. Psychologists have described the attacker as a gerontophile - someone who is sexually attracted to old people.
The victims of his attacks were aged between 68 and 93 years old: some of the women have reported that the attacker has spoken about "going to Brighton", so appeals will also be focused there. Tests on DNA samples have linked him to the Windward Islands in the Caribbean and detectives are due to travel there to make a further appeal.
Police identified more than 20,000 potential suspects; about half have been eliminated from the inquiry. He has mentioned Brighton to victims and police believe he may have a connection with that area.
Scotland Yard's biggest manhunt, Operation Minstead, has used DNA samples to trace the geographical roots of the man's ancestors. You know that this has to stop and you know that you have to come forward Det Supt Simon Morgan
The suspect is thought to have carried out his last attack in February 2005, and police are making the appeal in the hope they deter him. Det Supt Simon Morgan said he believed the attacker had a "conscience" from the way he has responded to his victims' pleas.
The attacker wears an all-in-one black suit and often removes light bulbs, cuts telephone wires and turns off the power after breaking into victims' homes. "He does have a conscience, we've seen that from the way that he has behaved when victims have challenged him.
One, an 88-year-old woman, was raped twice - her bowel was perforated and she almost died. "He knows this is wrong and he knows that it has to stop and it will stop and he has to come forward."
DNA techniques developed during the 'Adam' torso inquiry have been used to trace the attacker's family's roots. In a direct appeal to the attacker, he said: "You know that this has to stop and you know that you have to come forward and hand yourself in to police."
Police believe the man has raped four victims and sexually assaulted 24 others during a total of 98 break-ins.
'Persons of interest'
The attacks have been concentrated in areas such as Shirley in Croydon, Forest Hill, Orpington, Coulsdon and Warlingham.
He targets elderly victims at home alone and police believe he may have been walking the street looking for potential victims.
He is described as a black man in his late 30s, of athletic build and between 5ft 10ins and 6ft 2ins tall.
He tends to wear balaclavas, all-in-one outfits similar to a motorcyclist and at times a hooded top.
Some 21,500 potential "persons of interest" were originally identified during the inquiry codenamed Operation Minstead with almost 10,000 so far eliminated.