Convicted felon suspected of assaulting women at knifepoint; deputies look for additional victims

PUYALLUP -- Detectives are looking for additional victims after a 24-year-old convicted sex offender allegedly raped multiple women at knifepoint.

The suspect was arrested Thursday following a series of sexual assaults near 128th Street and Canyon Road East in Puyallup, Pierce County Sheriff's Department officials said. He was booked into the Pierce County Jail on one count of first-degree rape.

The suspect allegedly raped escorts he met online.

According to the sheriff's office, the suspect responded to an ad on the website "skipallthegames" and directed the victim to meet him at a home in the 5700 block of 128th Street East in Puyallup Thursday. The suspect directed the victim to the back porch area, held a knife to her throat and raped her.

After the assault, the victim ran to a nearby convenience store and called 911. Deputies drove to the home and found an elderly couple, who had no idea of the crime or the suspect.

While police were investigating the home, another woman approached them and said she had been assaulted at the same home 24 hours earlier. She told deputies the suspect responded to an escort ad and they met at the address. The suspect cornered her against a fence and assaulted her.

Detectives said four similar sexually motivated assaults occurred in late August and September in the same neighborhood.

Specialists searched sex offender registration records in a one-mile radius around the crime, deputies said, and found a man who had registered in the area in the last week of August. The suspect had been released from a Florida prison in August, police said, following a sentence for sexual battery with a weapon.

Detectives showed pictures of the suspect to the victims, who positively identified him. The man was arrested at his home.

Police believe there may be several more victims who didn't report assaults.

Anyone who has been lured or assaulted under similar circumstances is encouraged to contact the Pierce County Sheriff's Department.