DNA Leads To Arrest Of A Clown Who Allegedly Raped A Girl In 2002
FULLERTON (CBS) — A man who allegedly kidnapped and raped a 12-year-old girl while dressed as a clown nine years ago was taken into custody Friday by Fullerton police.
Jose Guadalupe Jimenez, 41, was arrested in Newport Beach on a warrant alleging two felony counts of lewd or lascivious acts with a minor.
Jimenez is accused of grabbing the girl at Lemon Street and Commonwealth Avenue just before midnight on Jan. 19, 2002, and driving her to a nearby school parking lot, where he raped her while wearing a clown mask and makeup, according to Fullerton police Sgt. Andrew Goodrich.
Jimenez later took the youngster to a motel on Harbor Boulevard and molested her again, Goodrich alleged. The girl got away when he left the car to talk to the motel clerk, according to the sergeant.
The case went cold for years, as the only physical description police had was a Latino man in a clown mask and makeup, Goodrich said.
Investigators got a break when Jimenez was arrested in 2010 and a DNA sample was collected, Goodrich said. That led to a DNA match in February to the evidence in the rape case, he said.
Jimenez is a professional clown who goes by the moniker "El Tin Larin," Goodrich said. Investigators are concerned there may be more victims as Jimenez has worked as a clown for the past nine years, he said.
Anyone with information helpful to investigators was asked to call Detective Kathryn Hamel at (714) 738-5327.
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