If he’s caught, the serial rapist will not only have been one of the most dangerous criminals to plague the community—he’ll also be one of the priciest. Crimestoppers, a police-based organization that fields crime-solving tips, has earmarked $20,000 for whomever helps them catch the serial rapist, and a UVA parents’ organization is discussing tacking on thousands more to the reward.
 Cops have stopped using this composite sketch of the serial rapist, at large for nearly 10 years. "[Composites] sometimes do more harm than good," says City spokesman Ric Barrick. |
For typical crimes, Crimestoppers offers three-figure sums for helpful crime tips, says Fred Payne, the organization’s treasurer. Usually, cops decide what reward amounts are appropriate and get a check from the Crimestoppers treasurer, a member of the organization’s executive board.
But when threatening criminals like the serial rapist reach the stratosphere of public attention, reward amounts climb. Crimestoppers changed its policy a couple of years ago to allow the public to earmark their donations for a particular crime—hence the thousands available for the serial rapist.
Payne says Crimestoppers is negotiating with a UVA parents’ organization to up the ante even more. Though Payne would not get specific, Charlottesville Police Chief Timothy
J. Longo says it is “a large sum of money.”
Another University incident has netted large donations as well. Following a shooting on Wertland Street in September, area landlords helped raise the reward to nearly $10,000.
In their hunt for the serial rapist, police have stopped using the well-known composite sketch. The drawing was produced based on the recollections of a victim who saw the rapist for two to three seconds, says City spokesperson Ric Barrick. “[The composite] is probably a somewhat unreliable sketch at this point. So, even if someone doesn’t fit [the composite] exactly, if their behavior is suspect, [residents] should call the police.”
Especially with $20,000-plus up for grabs.
