Batman Rapist

The Batman Rapist is an English serial sex offender who has committed at least 17 attacks on women in the city of Bath, Somerset. He is the subject of Britain's longest–running serial rape investigation, codenamed Operation Eagle, and has eluded capture since 1991. Detective Inspector Paul James of Avon and Somerset Constabulary, leading the operation, said it is "one of the most complicated and protracted investigations" that the force has ever undertaken. He was nicknamed after leaving a baseball cap bearing a logo from the Batman film series at the scene of one attack. Police believe that there are more victims who have never come forward. He has also been referred to in the news media as the "Riddler".

Brief Case History
The rapist first struck in October 1991 when he broke in to a car and waited for his victim to get in, he then held her at knifepoint and ordered her to drive to a secluded location where he proceeded to sexually assault her. The rapist continued to attack 16 more times over the course of ten years.

He has failed several attacks as well, where the victims managed to escape the perpetrator or he was scared off by witnesses.

The case was highlighted on the BBC's Crimewatch program on 25 January 2000, including an appeal from Avon and Somerset Constabulary for information from the public. As a result of the appeal, six previously unknown victims came forward. Callers also gave the names of four potential suspects, including the son of a British diplomat, a well known carpenter and a former military officer, and "dozens of calls were received from prostitutes and partners of people with similar sexual habits". Police believe that he was deliberately taunting them by carrying out two attacks on the evening after the television programme was aired.

Modus Operandi
Police say that the rapist has a detailed geographical knowledge of Bath and operates in "a specific hunting ground". All but one of his crimes have taken place in Bath, usually in the Bathwick area of the city, the exception being the abduction and rape of a 19-year-old woman in Kingswood, near Bristol in September 1996. His crimes usually take place during the darker winter months. He targets lone women who have just returned to their cars, abducting them at knifepoint before forcing them to drive to secluded areas in the south of the city where he then attacks them. He removes their underwear but then makes them put their tights back on which he rips during the rape. When he found one victim was not wearing tights, he ordered her to put on a pair he had brought with him. After raping his victim, he often forces them to drive back to the area where he abducted them. He has attacked mostly young women and in May 2000 attempted to carjack a 26-year-old woman in Bath while her seven-year-old daughter was in the car.

In October 2000, to coincide with the end of British Summer Time, Avon and Somerset Constabulary delivered leaflets to 25,000 homes in Bath—the biggest leaflet drop in the history of British criminal investigation—asking women to complete a checklist about friends, acquaintances, neighbours or relatives who might fit the profile of: The rapist was originally believed to have long periods of apparent inactivity, including a three-year gap between October 1991 and November 1994, followed by a further two years of apparent inactivity until June 1996. Police suspected that there were other attacks during these lulls in activity, suspicions of which were confirmed when after the crimewatch programme aired and several previously unknown victims came forward. His attacks may also take place while the rapist is between relationships. His attacks are usually between 6pm and 8pm, "possibly on the way home from work", or between 1am and 3am, and he may have convictions for car crime "because of the ease with which he breaks into vehicles."
 * a white male
 * slim or medium build
 * aged between 25 and 35
 * knows the Bath area well, and has some connection with Bristol, particularly the Kingswood area, and can drive a car
 * has a tights fetish and could get his sexual partner to wear tights which he may rip during intercourse
 * sometimes wears a baseball cap
 * has aroused suspicion with absences from home during the evening and early hours of the morning

Suspect
During the assaults he generally wears, hoodies, ski masks, baseball caps, jackets, combat boots and also frequently carries a military issue service knife, a handgun and a torch. It is believed that the suspect has prior military training, possibly in a Special Forces unit like the Special Forces Support Group or the Special Air Service. One theory considered by police was that the rapist had been in prison or away from the area while serving as a member of the armed forces, based on his initial suspected inactivity between October 1991 and November 1994 and between February 1997 and January 1999.

Some of the named suspects in the case are:
 * Thomas Davies, the son of a diplomat who lived with his father in another country during the rapist's apparent inactivity, was eliminated as a suspect when it was discovered that there were assaults during this period.
 * Darren Cosgrave, a former British Army Special Air Service operator who was away serving in the military when the rapist was inactive. He would have access to the tools and skills employed by the rapist during his assaults.

Murder of Melanie Hall
Police investigating the abduction and murder of 25-year-old Melanie Hall who disappeared after a night out in Bath in June 1996 have not ruled out a connection with the rapist. He is known to have attempted to carjack a woman at knifepoint in the same area of the city a few hours before Hall was abducted, leaving his victim wounded when she fought back and managed to escape.

On Criminal Minds
The Batman rapist seems to have inspired the Piano Man rapist, Hamilton Bartholomew. Both are serial rapists with over nine victims, had a similar M.O., targeted young women, and both were classed as anger-excitation and power-assertive rapists, and were given nicknames by the media for their crimes.