Gothenburg haunted by mystery rapist

Police in Gothenburg are on the hunt for a perpetrator suspected in a number of rapes and as many as thirty attempted sexual assaults in recent weeks.

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“He won’t stop until we arrest him,” police spokesperson Björ Blixter told the TT news agency.

The man is an official suspect in two rapes, two attempted rapes, and two sexual assaults, all of which took place in the last two to three weeks.

But when police began knocking on doors in the Johanneberg neighbourhood where he is believed to operate, they received clear indications that the suspected rapist was close to attacking a further 20 to 30 women.

“The picture is quite clear as to whom we’re looking for,” said Blixter.

The so-called Johanneberg Man, is patient and his odd methods have surprised police.

He has been seen approaching buildings on foot, on an old bicycle or via moped. He then goes from door to door, ringing the bells of potential victims hoping to force his way inside.

“He’s really direct and looks women who open their doors straight in the eye and asks, for example, ‘Are you married, will you marry me, is your husband home, do you want to have a quickie?’” said Blixter.

“If he’s met with resistance and the door is closed, he just goes across the hall and rings the next door and tries again. He can ring at a lot of doors before he leaves an area.”

If a man opens the door, however, the suspect looks down, says he’s come to the wrong door, and disappears.

Police received a tip last Friday that they hoped would lead to an arrest. Upon arriving on the scene in Johanneberg, police found a man running up and down the stairs of a building.

But it turned out the man was simply distributing flyers door-to-door, writes the Göteborgs-Posten newspaper.

“The man hasn’t so far shown himself to be violent, but there’s a risk that things could escalate,” said Blixter, who suspects the man will return.

“He may be lying low for a while because we’re going to the public with information about it, but I don’t think that he’ll give up until we arrest him.”