Serial Seattle gropers claims 2 dozen victims - a suspect arrested

(Original Post 5-23-08)

A groper who attacked a South Seattle woman over the weekend may have assaulted as many as 23 other in Seattle’s Rainier Valley and Beacon Hill neighborhods.

Seattle police reported that the groper ran up behind a woman walking with her child around 10 AM Saturday morning, and touched her on the buttocks. The victim screamed and ran, bringing out witnesses. The groper, described as a fortyish black man standing 5’-10” with skin blemishes, fled into a vehicle described as a 1994 green Jeep Cherokee.

Police think the same man has continued to prey on women despite increased police patrols, widespread publicity and community meetings about the attacks.

Detectives have not yet spoken to the most recent victim and were urging her to come forward, and asking anyone who knows her to refer her to police.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Sexual Assault Unit at 206-684-5575.

The suspect's behavior became more aggressive in the past year, police said. He tried to drag one woman into a dark alley and in January, preyed on two girls, 13 and 14, as they were crossing the street in the 5200 block of 42nd Avenue South.

Groping is considered a “gateway” sexual crime, just like flashing and peeping, and many gropers have turned into rapists, according to authorities.

"That's why are bringing this to the public seeking assistance... ," police spokeswoman Renee Witt said. "It's really important that we talk to this victim from the last attack and any other victims that may be out there."

(Update 5-24-08) There's a suspect in some of the groping cases. Darin Bolar, a father of 2, has been charged with 4th degree assault in the Saturday, May 17 groping and theft of the cell phone of the man who reported it. He was convicted of molesting a teenage girl at a water park and assaulting his girlfriend in the 1990s, and the assault of his girlfriend was pled down from a rape charge. The water park incident lead to a guilty plea and 2 years in prison.

Bolar is a registered Level 1 sex offender, which is the category considered by authorities at minimal risk of recidivism. He is required by law to inform police each time he changes an address, but is not held to more-stringent regular check-ins mandated for higher-risk sex offenders.

A State Patrol sex-offender database shows that Bolar, who has more than a dozen aliases, registered his last known address at 4247 S. Thistle St.

Police think they are looking for at least one other man, possibly a copycat or an accomplice, because of disparities in the descriptions given of the attacker, Witt said.

In all the cases, Asian women were targeted.

(Update 6-6-08) Bolar was in court June 4 for his arrignment. He pleaded not guilty to robbery and assault for the last alleged attack, and is being held on $500,000 bond.