Serial Rapist Believed to Have Claimed 4th Victim : Crime: A 26-year-old San Clemente woman was assaulted early Friday when she arrived home from work.

A 26-year-old woman who was sexually assaulted in her apartment early Friday is believed to be the fourth victim of a serial rapist who has terrorized the city for five months.

The attack occurred about 1:15 a.m. when the victim, employed as a bartender in Oceanside, came home from work to her Avenida del Mar apartment, Police Sgt. Richard E. Downing said.

As the woman was unlocking her front door, the rapist grabbed her from behind and shoved her into the apartment, Police Lt. Steve Bernardi said. The attacker bound her hands and blindfolded her, then sexually assaulted her for about 15 minutes before fleeing, Bernardi said.

Police speculate that the attacker is the same man wanted in connection with three other assaults, the first of which occurred last October. The victims in those cases were also bound, gagged and blindfolded, police said.

“There are a lot of similarities between this and others,” Bernardi said.

The only marked difference between Friday’s assault and the others was its location. The latest attack occurred in the Pier Bowl neighborhood, while the others took place in or near the upscale Broadmoor Homes neighborhood, a 204-house tract near San Clemente High School.

In the October attack, a 29-year-old mentally retarded woman was kidnaped near Avenida Pico, taken to an apartment and raped. A month later, a 13-year-old girl was raped.

In early February, an intruder broke into a four-bedroom home through a sliding glass door and confronted a 19-year-old woman who was alone in the house. He tied her hands with an electric cord, blindfolded her and gagged her with a sock. He then led her through different parts of the house and demanded money before assaulting her in her bedroom.

As news of the latest attack circulated throughout the city, which is near the Camp Pendleton Marine base, residents expressed frustration that police have been unable to apprehend the rapist.

“With the Marines gone, a lot of young women are home alone now,” said resident Ricky Visconte, 41, as he sat on a park bench next to the pier. “The young girls are his target. . . . The whole thing is pretty sick.”

San Clemente Mayor Scott Diehl said that residents, especially women, should take extra precautions to ensure their safety. Women, he said, should not walk or jog alone, should make sure that their homes are locked securely and should report any suspicious individuals to police.

Diehl encouraged residents to attend a rape seminar at the Police Department on Thursday in which officers will instruct participants on how to safeguard themselves.

The rapist “is a sick individual,” Diehl said. “We would like to get that information out to women to protect themselves, especially in light of what this individual has done.”

The rapist is believed to be about 6 feet tall, 165 pounds, cleanshaven and with light-brown hair. The latest victim, police said, was unable to describe her attacker.

Police said that since they noticed the pattern of attacks early this year, they have added patrols in the Broadmoor area and that they plan to increase the scope of their investigation.

“We’ve already got a lot of manpower” in the investigation, Downing said. “We have been doing everything we can at this time on it. Now we have to broaden our area.”

Residents and business people in the Pier Bowl area were shocked to hear of the latest assault and that the rapist may be expanding his territory.

“I’ll never forget to lock my door again,” said Shelly Vandyke, who owns an ice cream shop near the pier and lives a few blocks away. “I don’t think I’ll take the usual walks at nights too. (Home) is only a couple blocks away, but I’ll drive.”

Rick Anderson, president of the Pier Bowl Merchants Assn., said that although the neighborhood nearest the pier is frequently patrolled by police, he will ask the department to step up nightly patrols.

“I’m shocked. . . . I’m totally disappointed that something like this happened here,” Anderson said. “This is not a Pier Bowl problem however. This is a citywide problem.”