There's nothing funny about rape. Actually, it's one of the most reprehensible acts on the face of the earth. However, on my morning drive I heard a story of a serial rapist here in the West Tennessee area that I must share. Yes, and when I heard the story I thought it was funny and I laughed. Well damn RiPPa that was cold blooded. What if he raped one of your female relatives, your wife or even your teenage daughters? Would you be laughing then? Of course not. I never said that a woman getting raped was funny. I said the story I heard was funny.
For starters, this rapist has been dubbed the "Big-Bellied Rapist". According to the report the only description his victims remember is that he has a big belly. Considering that Memphis TN, has the dubious distinction of being the most obese city in the country, I guess it's to be expected; yes, there are a lot of big belly men and women running around these parts. But seriously, how big was this guy's belly for him to stand out in the minds of his victims? Really, no tattoos, scars, distinguishing marks, or moles? Nope, just a big belly. Good luck finding that guy in this town.
Now, here's where the news report I heard got really funny to me. Apparently the "big bellied rapist" has been running around the area wearing a ninja mask, and has been breaking into apartments raping women. Yep, and the news story I heard this morning said that the police have finally put together a composite sketch of this guy unlike the one they've been circulating in their manhunt pictured to the right.Investigators believe they've linked another sexual assault to the so-called “big-bellied” rapist who has attacked women in Shelby County and Martin, Tenn., authorities said today.
A man wearing a mask broke into an apartment and fondled a woman in Memphis near Whitten and Macon the morning of Aug. 5, said Shelby County Sheriff's Office spokesman Steve Shular this afternoon.Later on Aug. 5, the suspect is believed to have raped a woman in Martin.
Sheriff's deputies believe the same suspect is responsible because “it was an apartment, it was a break-in, it was a sexual assault, and there was a mask,” Shular said.
The assaults have all occurred in apartments.
The rapist has been described as a masked white man with a large belly, about 6-feet tall and 250 pounds. He had a black handgun and wore a Ninja-style mask.
Investigators believe the man is responsible for assaults on Mikada in Cordova June 27, on Bo Drive in Martin July 24 and Harrison Road in Martin Aug. 5, in addition to the Memphis assault.
“We're still trying to connect the dots right now,” Shular said.
“We're trying to find as many similarities as we can to place the subject's whereabouts, what ties he might have to the Shelby County area and what ties he might have to the Martin, Tenn., area.”
Investigators have found a witness who may have seen the man without his mask, Shular said, and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is working to produce a composite sketch of his face. [source]
Now I've already told you that there is no shortage of big belly men in this area, right? Ok, well, how many men do you think are walking around on the streets wearing a ninja mask? Umm, you mean to tell me that police agencies here in West Tennessee have all been on the lookout for a pot-bellied redneck ninja all this time? Damn, and here I thought police sketch artists were racist. I wrote a blog a while back explaining why I felt that way. If you're interested in finding out why CLICK HERE. Maybe this composite sketch disproves the very idea.
NOTE: Anyone with information is asked to call the TBI at (800) TBI-FIND (824-3463), the Shelby County Sheriff's Office at 545-5600, or Crime Stoppers at 528-CASH (2274).
