Clown Arrested In 2002 Rape Of Girl In SoCal

FULLERTON, Calif. (AP) -- A professional clown has been arrested on suspicion of kidnapping and raping a 12-year-old girl nine years ago in Orange County.

   Fullerton police Sgt. Andrew Goodrich says 41-year-old Jose Guadalupe Jimenez of Anaheim -- who uses the stage name "El Tin Larin" -- was arrested Friday after investigators matched his DNA to evidence from the attack.

   Goodrich says a man in a clown mask and makeup grabbed a girl at a fast-food stand just before midnight in January 2002, drove to a nearby school parking lot and raped her, then molested her again in his van before she managed to escape.

   Goodrich says investigators got a break last year when Jimenez provided a DNA sample following his arrest in Newport Beach on suspicion of physically abusing a child.

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