Cops quash rumors of serial rapist, Amber Alert being spread online
| Monday, Nov 02 2009 04:37 PM
Last Updated Monday, Nov 02 2009 04:37 PM
A serial rapist in Lake Isabella. A child kidnapped in downtown Bakersfield. A woman sexually ravaged and tossed dead into a canal.
These are reports that grip people with fear and worry.
If they were true.
All of the situations described above have made the rounds on social networking sites, e-mails and cell phones within the past month. And all were quashed by law enforcement as either untrue or vastly over stated.
The latest is a Kern County sheriff's news release on Monday seeking to quash rumors of a serial rapist in Lake Isabella and a murder of a young female whose body was supposed to have been dumped into the Borel Canal.
Substation Sgt. Dean Marshall reported that only one sexual assault is under investigation, and no information exists on any young female being killed or dumped in the canal.
Marshall said the sexual assault was reported about two weeks ago and anyone with information on that is asked to call Senior Deputy Scott Lopez at 760-549-2100. Deputies have reported a woman said she was assaulted late at night Oct. 20 behind a store at Erskine Creek Road and Claire Street.
No suspects have been identified in that case, deputies said.
Marshall sent out a news release about the rumors because pictures of a man are being circulated as a suspected serial rapist. Deputies don't know who that man is.
About three weeks ago, Bakersfield police issued a statement to squelch rumors that a child was kidnapped on Chester Avenue and was the subject of an Amber Alert.
Such baseless reports happen occasionally, but with modern technology they can spread so fast that police sometimes have to set the record straight, Detective Mary DeGeare said.
Added sheriff's spokesman Mark King, "I don't think we deal with it a whole lot, but once in a while it comes up."
Rumors happen in virtually all cases, but when a campaign gets under way to alarm people without sufficient cause, law enforcement has found itself stepping in, he said.
People have called news outlets to express worry about the safety of themselves or their children.
King said if there is a legitimate basis for such worry, the police agencies will generally report incidents in the interest of public safety.
