Fairview Park rapist captured

Greg Risling

COSTA MESA -- Police announced Wednesday they have arrested a Huntington

Beach man suspected of two rapes, one of which occurred at Fairview Park

earlier this year.

Calvin William Cunningham III, 24, was linked to the rapes through DNA

tests.

Sitting in Orange County Jail on other sex-related charges, Cunningham

was charged with two felony counts of rape after the genetic testing tied

him to the crimes, police said. He appeared in a West Justice Center

courtroom Wednesday, where his arraignment was postponed until Dec. 29.

Police also suspect Cunningham is responsible for a rash of indecent

exposure cases this year on Costa Mesa’s West Side. Police said several

women were targeted by an unknown man who accosted them by exposing

himself.

The arrest came after a collaborative effort between several law

enforcement agencies.

Police officers are gleaming this holiday season, knowing they possibly

nabbed a sexual predator.

“It was our investigative intuition that led us to this guy,” said Costa

Mesa police Lt. Ron Smith. “We were all pleased with the result. This guy

is an extreme danger to society.”

The Feb. 22 rape of a 36-year-old woman in Fairview Park was one of the

department’s priorities this year. The victim was walking on Placentia

Avenue when she was attacked by an assailant.

She was pulled into a thick clump of tall grass near a dirt trail. The

victim was reportedly choked while the assailant attempted to tear off

her clothes. She initially struggled, police said, but relented when he

began to rape her.

The incident terrified some residents who used the park on a frequent

basis. The rape shocked one resident enough for him to anonymously offer

a $25,000 reward for the arrest and conviction of the attacker.

Smith added that the reward will be returned to the donor because DNA

evidence and police work were responsible for the arrest.

“This is the scariest of all rapes,” Smith said. “It’s the boogeyman

lurking in the shadows, dragging them into the bushes and raping them.”

Cunningham is also accused of a July 3 sexual assault, in which a

16-year-old girl was raped in Westminster. The victim was walking home

near Land School when a man came up behind her and dragged her behind a

wall.

The girl was screaming and kicking while the man tried to cover her

mouth. After she was raped, she went to a neighbor’s house, where she

called police.

Both Westminster and Costa Mesa police saw the similarities between the

two crimes: the description of the rapist; that each victim was dragged

to a hidden spot; and the rapist used the element of surprise.

The break in the case came from a handful of women who identified

Cunningham as the man who exposed his genitals to them.

Most of the incidents occurred on the West Side, where there is a large

amount of foot traffic. Over a three-month period, police said Cunningham

exposed himself to both women and girls on at least six occasions.

The last came on Sept. 29 in Huntington Beach, when a woman claims

Cunningham jumped from behind some bushes, unzipped his pants and showed

his genitals. The woman called police and Cunningham was found nearby.

She and two other women who had been accosted identified Cunningham as

the suspect.

After his arrest, police submitted a DNA sample from Cunningham to the

Orange County Sheriff’s laboratory, where it was determined earlier this

week that there was a link between Cunningham and the crimes.

“We figured that this type of behavior is sometimes a symptom of

something else that can escalate,” Smith added. “This guy was doing

[indecent exposure] for the shock value.”

Cunningham was living with his wife, but had since moved out since his

arrest in September. He has two children and was holding down different

jobs during the alleged crimes.

Police are also looking at old, unsolved cases and contacting other

agencies to see if Cunningham fits a profile. Smith said they have dug up

two cases -- both dating back to May 1997 -- that may have some

similarities to these cases.

“There is a good possibility there are more cases where he is involved,”

Smith said.

CRIME WATCH

Here is a list of crimes police believe were committed by Calvin William

Cunningham in 1999:

* Feb. 22 -- A 36-year-old woman is walking near Fairview Park during the

early morning hours when she is dragged into some bushes by an assailant.

The man begins choking her as he tears at her clothes, and then rapes

her.

* July 3 -- A 16-year-old girl is walking home in Westminster when a man

grabs her from behind. Screaming and kicking, she is dragged behind a

school wall and raped as he covers her mouth.

* July 20 -- A 24-year-old woman is accosted by a man who exposes himself

at the intersection of Scott Place and Placentia Avenue.

* Aug. 31 -- A 22-year-old woman walking home near Wilson Street and

Monrovia Avenue is approached by a man who unzips his pants and exposes

his genitals. Two hours later, a 15-year-old girl is the victim of the

same circumstance less than a mile away.

* Sept. 1 -- A 15-year-old girl is walking to the store when a man jumps

out of some bushes and exposes himself on Pomona Avenue.

* Sept. 29 -- A 44-year-old woman is headed to work when a man exposes

himself at the intersection of Wallace Avenue and James Street. Two hours

later, another woman sees a man exposing himself in Huntington Beach. She

calls police and the woman identifies the man suspected of the crime. He

is Calvin William Cunningham.