Eight Years of Fear in Silence: The Capture of the Sexual Predator Who Terrorised Elda and Petrer

Petrer and Elda have lived for years under the shadow of a sexual predator who acted with coldness and planning. The National Police have managed to capture him after eight years of investigation during which he allegedly attacked at least a dozen victims with extreme violence. He attacked one of them twice in different years, according to investigation sources.

The alleged aggressor is a 42-year-old resident of Petrer. He led a normal life, but at night he turned into a sexual predator. He hid his face and attacked when the sun went down. His hunting ground was Elda and Petrer; his victims were women aged between 18 and 52.

The 'Operation Saholin', which began in 2017 after the first reports, was hindered by the sporadic nature of the crimes and the suspect's strategy: he acted sporadically, hid his face, and approached his victims near their homes, which greatly complicated his identification, the same sources detail.

The assaults continued in the following years. The first took place in a vacant lot in Petrer in 2017 and the last this May. In all cases, the aggressor approached the victims from behind, at night or early morning, and in areas close to the victims' homes.

According to the officers in charge of the case, the investigation required a long process due to the sporadic nature of the assaults, the limited initial information available, and the absence of conclusive evidence during the early years. The investigations managed to identify a clear criminological pattern and obtained the necessary evidence in one of the latest assaults, which made it possible to identify the alleged perpetrator.

The evidence cornered him, and the police narrowed down the suspect's actions to a specific area near his home. The officers used advanced techniques of event reconstruction and personal identification. Additionally, they had the collaboration of the Behaviour Analysis Section attached to the Central Criminal Intelligence Unit of the National Police Judicial Police Headquarters, which provided key data on the aggressor's behaviour.

The sexual predator was identified and arrested in Petrer during an operation that included a search of his home, where items linking him to the sexual assaults were found. Furthermore, DNA sample analyses collected throughout the investigation have been crucial in confirming his alleged involvement in the incidents.

The police have highlighted the similarity in the attack pattern, despite the time he allowed to pass between each one, which enabled him to evade justice for years. However, the perseverance of the investigators has finally led to his arrest as part of 'Operation Saholin'.

The case has generated deep concern among the residents of both towns and once again raises the need to strengthen prevention and protection mechanisms to prevent situations like this from continuing for so long without an effective response.

The detainee will be brought before the Elda Magistrate's Court on duty in the coming hours.