Convicted rapist arrested in new attack

A convicted sex offender wanted for parole violations has been arrested on suspicion of breaking into a Wilshire-area home and raping a woman.

Authorities said today that fingerprints and DNA evidence connected Damicii D. Brown to the New Year’s Day crime.

Brown, 35, was arrested late Tuesday during an LAPD stakeout, after he was spotted in a stolen Toyota sedan pulling up to a relative’s home in the 2500 block of South Bronson Avenue, police said. Detectives, with the help of the Santa Monica-UCLA rape treatment center, had managed to fast-track testing of DNA evidence from the crime scene, said Deputy Chief Kenneth Garner.

“We believe this is a serial sexual predator and there may be other victims out there,” Garner said. Detectives are investigating several other attempted break-ins or sexual assaults in the Wilshire area, he said.

Brown spent 14 years in prison for a rape and kidnapping and was a registered sex offender, Garner said. He had failed to report to his parole officer or to charge a tracking bracelet he was required to wear.

During the Wilshire assault, the assailant knocked repeatedly on the victim’s door and, after she refused to open it, climbed in through an open window, authorities said.

richard.winton@latimes.com