EL SEGUNDO : Police Release Sketch of Rape, Robbery Suspect

El Segundo police have released a sketch of an acne-scarred man suspected of raping a Danish tourist and robbing three businesses Aug. 21 during a late-night crime spree.

Witnesses and the 20-year-old rape victim provided police with a description of the suspect, a black man in his late 20s or early 30s who is 5 feet, 9 inches tall, with short, dark hair, a light mustache and a gold earring in his left ear.

The woman, who was touring the country with a friend, was dragged from the Hacienda Hotel at 525 N. Sepulveda Blvd. by a gunman who had just robbed a sandwich shop and a copy shop in a mini-mall across the street, said El Segundo Police Sgt. Glenn Coles.

The suspect, armed with a semiautomatic handgun, entered the hotel about 12:40 a.m., demanded money, and ordered hotel employees and patrons to lie on the floor. He collected $700 and dragged the woman out a back door.

The woman was forced into a sedan with a waiting driver and raped twice during a two-hour drive through South Bay streets.

Witnesses described the car as a metallic-painted, four-door sedan with a dark, vinyl top and thin whitewall tires with spoke or wire rims. Anyone with information may call the El Segundo Police Department at (310) 322-9114, Ext. 261.