INDIANAPOLIS – Indianapolis Metropolitan and Lawrence police are warning the public about a series of sexual assault cases on the city’s east side.
According to the Lawrence Police Department, one case dates back to Feb. 13, when a man knocked on a door of a home near East 52nd Street and North Shadeland Avenue dressed as what appeared to be a utility worker.
The victim opened the door, and the suspect forced the victim back into the home and committed a sexual assault.
In that case, the man was described as a “male with dark complexion in his late 20s-early 30s, wearing a utility-worker style hard hat, clear goggles, a medical-style face mask, and traffic safety vest.”
Investigators believe the man is between 5’8” and 6’3” with a “muscular build.”
“We believe there have been a series of sexual assaults that an individual has committed on the east side. One in Lawrence, others in IMPD jurisdiction,” said Lawrence Deputy Chief Gary Woodruff.
Woodruff said there were “more than two” cases connected to the attacker. Investigators are limiting the amount of information released in the case “to help protect the victims involved and to protect the integrity of the investigation.”
They’re reminding residents not to open the door for strangers and to verify the identity of anyone claiming to represent a business or utility. Call 911 to report any suspicious activity.
“Be cautious, maybe even be a little suspicious, especially if it’s an unexpected or unannounced,” Woodruff said. “If there is something going on with the utilities, legitimate utility service workers are going are going to announce that, there’s going to be marked vehicles in the area. And again, if it doesn’t feel right, if it doesn’t look right, doesn’t seem right, it probably isn’t.”
Anyone with information should contact detectives at 317-327-3330 or call Crime Stoppers anonymously at 317-262-TIPS (8477).
