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Rape Suspect Arrested After he Sends His Photo From Victim's Cell
Rape suspect nabbed after he sends his photo from victim's cell
8/8/07
VICTORVILLE, CALIF. — Police identified a man as a suspect in a rape after he used the cell phone he stole from the victim to send a photo of himself to her friend, authorities said.
The armed man raped the 23-year-old woman in a park on May 20 and stole cell phones from her and two of her friends, sheriff's Detective Bob Thacker said Tuesday.
Weeks later, the woman received an e-mail from a friend asking why she had sent a photograph of an unknown man from her cell phone, officials said.
The photo showed a man in a white T-shirt standing in front of a house.
"We couldn't believe that he sent a picture of himself to one of her contacts. I don't know if he knew he did it, but we can only assume it was an accident," Thacker said. "That was kind of a big break in the case for us."
Telephone records showed the phone had been used to call a home and authorities checked the area. "Right away we see this gold house, with one of the shutters missing and the same rock design on the garage exactly the same as the picture," Thacker said.
DNA taken from William Bates, 19, who is serving two years in prison on an unrelated armed robbery conviction, linked him to the attack, authorities said.
San Bernardino County district attorney's office spokeswoman Susan Mickey said prosecutors were still reviewing the case and had not charged him in the attack.
Mickey said she did not know the name of Bates' attorney.
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