On Friday night we told you about alleged serial rapist Leroy Gomez.
Well after a weekend long manhunt, police have still not found him. Up to last
night, patrol teams were responding to sightings in the Lake Independence area,
but they just missed him. So he is still at large, and tonight police have another
report to link him to. Another young woman has come forward to say that on September
eighth she was attacked by a man believed to be Leroy Gomez.
The 17 year old who resides in the Lake Independence area told 7NEWS
that she worked late that night but on her way home, she and a female friend
then decided to stop and socialize at a nearby park. The two young women then
left for home around three in the morning. Just after she left her friend and
was walking home a man pulled up beside her on a bicycle. The man grabbed the
young woman from behind and clutched her around the neck while dragging her
through an alley and into a yard. He also snatched her cell phone.
The teenager said the man even threatened to kill her but she says
she does not know what happened next because she lost consciousness and when
she came to, the man was pulling down her pants. The woman said she started
screaming which caught the attention of people living in the area and that scared
him off. The young woman told 7NEWS she is lucky because she is still
alive and avoided rape.
Leroy Gomez is believed to be responsible for at least four other cases
of rape that date back to August twenty third. Tonight the police want you to
take a good look at the picture they have provided to the media and appeal for
the community’s assistance.
Clemente Palacio, Police Press Officer
“We are asking or seeking the help of the public to assist the Police
Department in the capture of this individual that is clearly on the loose and 
that has committed some very reprehensible acts against women, that is our biggest
concern. We suspect that he is coming out only at night and in the city as well
and behind those areas, the south side of Belize City, there are many abandoned
buildings and areas, wooded areas, that some persons can hide and would make
it difficult for the police to apprehend him in that kind of covert manner in
which he operates.
When one looks at the modus operandi of this individual, he accosts them
with a knife and threatens them and then takes them into certain abandoned buildings
or alleys or things like that and with physical force he then proceeds to rape
these individuals, or attempts to rape them in certain cases.
That is a very big concern and that is the reason why the Police Department
has gone beyond a reasonable limit to publicize this matter and to ensure that
women are warned that they must be careful at night since there are predators
such as these. What we have done is to circulate his picture, we will have a
more detailed description of this individual so that the community at large
can get involved and we can remove this person from off the street.”
Equally concerning is that the police now strongly believe that the
health of his victims may also be at risk. So far, Leroy Gomez is known to operate
in the Lake Independence and Collet areas however all women are being cautioned
for their safety especially those who walk home late at night. If you have any
information on the whereabouts of Leroy Gomez you are asked to call 911 or the
nearest police station.
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