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Could accused serial rapist be linked to Cullman attacks?

By Jeanie Powell - bio | email
Posted by Dana Franks - email

CULLMAN, AL (WAFF) - Late in 2008 and in early 2009, there were several reported attacks in the Cullman area - four in various forms.

Police said James Crockett, Jr., an alleged serial rapist caught elsewhere in the Tennessee Valley, recently used handcuffs and a stun gun during the commission of his crimes.

Handcuffs were used in the reported rape in Cullman County and investigators are teaming up with another investigative agency to see if Crockett could be their guy.

A picture still hangs inside the first floor of the Cullman Police Department. It's a composite derived of a suspect from a reported incident on Katherine Street in late February.

A woman said a man with a gun tried to force his way inside a home. Three other cases came before this report.

In mid-December in the Berlin community of Cullman County, a man reportedly tried to abduct a woman outside her home. In early January in the city limits, a woman was jogging at Heritage Park. She told police a man came out of the woods, drug her behind a tree, and physically assaulted her.

In mid-February, in the Good Hope community of Cullman County, a woman told deputies she was raped after a man entered her home. Handcuffs were used in this attack, something authorities say is rare during a rape.

The victim also told the sheriff's office the suspect had an accent.

Sheriff Ty Roden told WAFF 48 News suspect descriptions varied in the four cases.

"There were four different cases and we got a little bit different information on a suspect from each case," Roden said. "There was one case the victim could not give us much as far as a skin color or just maybe an accent. In one case, the victim thought the suspect was Hispanic, in one case the victim thought the suspect was of Indian descent of some type. So it was kind of hard to come to any hard, fast similarities on all these cases together, but we felt that it was at least someone that had an accent, a small build, a dark complexion."

Assistant Police Chief Gordon Sandlin said victims in the city's two cases described their attacker as a dark-complicated man, wearing a hood or mask and carrying a gun or knife.

Sandlin said since the assault at Heritage Park, blind spots at the facility have been taken cafe of and the result has been helpful.

The departments worked the cases in two scenarios. In one, they were dealing with the same suspect. In another, more than one person was responsible.

"We did develop a few leads, a few people, but those have since been curtailed," Sandlin said.

And there haven't been any new cases since.

But the recent arrest of Crockett has both agencies working with Florence police.

"We're in communication with them at this time, and talking to them.  Our investigators are talking to them about the possibility of a connection," Roden said.

Roden said if there's no connection, he feels his investigators will be able to determine that rather quickly. Sandlin said his investigators are looking into it also.

"They'll look into that," Sandlin said. "But the description of that person does not exactly match the description of what we're looking for. But they'll look at it real close to see if he was in this area at all."

And if Crockett isn't the guy they're looking for, that means another person or persons are responsible and authorities need as much information as you can provide them to prevent this from happening again.

Please call the Cullman Police Department at (256) 734-1434 or the Cullman Sheriff's Office at (256) 734-0342 with any information on these attacks.

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