Mr. Cruel
Encyclopedia
"Mr. Cruel" is the name given to an Australia
n murder
er and rapist
who attacked girls in suburban Melbourne
in the late 1980s and early 1990s. His identity is unknown.
He was originally known as The Hampton Rapist, and was later given his infamous Mr. Cruel moniker by newspaper sub-editors. Melbourne Police
believe that he is responsible for a series of child rapes and abductions dating back to 1985.
Mr. Cruel is believed to have videotaped or perhaps taken still photographs of his attacks. Detectives believe that if he is still alive, he will have kept the tapes and/or photos and will still collect, and possibly swap, child pornography. They say he almost certainly continues to collect pornography through the internet and may communicate with children using chat lines.
He plans his crimes - for example, in one case he abducted a girl and told her he would release her in exactly 50 hours, and indeed he did. He bathed his victims carefully, with one victim describing the act as "like a mother washing a baby", and wiped bench
tops etc. for fingerprints. Shortly before releasing one victim, he thoroughly cleaned the bathroom and then laid down a sheet on the lino-covered floor to avoid leaving footprints. In one case, he took a second set of clothes from the girl's home to dress her before she was freed. In another, he dumped the girl in garbage bags so police could not test her original clothes. The modus operandi
is so similar in these cases that police believe it is the same perpetrator.
Two of his victims were able to provide police with details of the house where they were kept. Both were shackled to a bed with a rough neck brace
. One told detectives she heard planes landing, leading police to believe the house was on one of the flight paths to Melbourne Airport. Police checked houses in Keilor East, Niddrie, Airport West, Keilor Park and Essendon North.
On December 14, 2010 Victoria Police announced that a new Taskforce had been established about eight months earlier following substantial new intelligence. The new Taskforce has been reviewing both the Spectrum Taskforce investigation and some new leads that have come in the last year or so.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
er and rapist
Rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...
who attacked girls in suburban Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
in the late 1980s and early 1990s. His identity is unknown.
He was originally known as The Hampton Rapist, and was later given his infamous Mr. Cruel moniker by newspaper sub-editors. Melbourne Police
Victoria Police
Victoria Police is the primary law enforcement agency of Victoria, Australia. , the Victoria Police has over 12,190 sworn members, along with over 400 recruits, reservists and Protective Service Officers, and over 2,900 civilian staff across 393 police stations.-Early history:The Victoria Police...
believe that he is responsible for a series of child rapes and abductions dating back to 1985.
- On 22 August 1987 in Lower Plenty, a man broke into a family home at 4 a.m. armed with a knife and a gun. He tied the hands and feet of both parents and locked them in a wardrobe. The son was tied to a bed and the eleven year old daughter was attacked. He cut the phone lines.
- On 27 December 1988 in RingwoodRingwood, VictoriaRingwood is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, east of Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Maroondah. At the 2006 Census, Ringwood had a population of 15,185....
, he broke into the back door of a house at 5.30 a.m., armed with a knife and a small handgun. He bound and gagged the parents, and demanded money. He grabbed the ten year old daughter, Sharon Wills, put tape over her eyes, a ball gag in her mouth and abducted her. She was released 18 hours later in the grounds of Bayswater high school. - On 3 July 1990 in CanterburyCanterbury, VictoriaCanterbury is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 10 km east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Boroondara...
, he broke into a house at 11.30 p.m. and tied and gagged a thirteen year girl, Nicola Lynas. He placed tape over her eyes, disabled the phones and searched for money. He drove her to another house and molested her for fifty hours before releasing her at a power sub-station in the suburb of Kew. - On 13 April 1991 in TemplestoweTemplestowe, Victoria"Templestowe" redirects here. For the Victorian Legislative Council Province, please see Templestowe Province.Templestowe is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 17 km north-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Manningham...
, armed with a knife, he abducted thirteen year old Karmein ChanKarmein ChanKarmein Chan was a 13-year-old Australian girl from Templestowe, Victoria who was abducted on the 13th of April in 1991 and subsequently murdered....
. Her body, with three gunshot wounds to the head, was found a year later.
Mr. Cruel is believed to have videotaped or perhaps taken still photographs of his attacks. Detectives believe that if he is still alive, he will have kept the tapes and/or photos and will still collect, and possibly swap, child pornography. They say he almost certainly continues to collect pornography through the internet and may communicate with children using chat lines.
He plans his crimes - for example, in one case he abducted a girl and told her he would release her in exactly 50 hours, and indeed he did. He bathed his victims carefully, with one victim describing the act as "like a mother washing a baby", and wiped bench
Bench (furniture)
A bench is a piece of furniture, on which several people may sit at the same time. Benches are typically made of wood, but may also be made of metal, stone, or synthetic materials. Many benches have arm and back rests; some have no back rest and can be sat on from either side. In public areas,...
tops etc. for fingerprints. Shortly before releasing one victim, he thoroughly cleaned the bathroom and then laid down a sheet on the lino-covered floor to avoid leaving footprints. In one case, he took a second set of clothes from the girl's home to dress her before she was freed. In another, he dumped the girl in garbage bags so police could not test her original clothes. The modus operandi
Modus operandi
Modus operandi is a Latin phrase, approximately translated as "mode of operation". The term is used to describe someone's habits or manner of working, their method of operating or functioning...
is so similar in these cases that police believe it is the same perpetrator.
Two of his victims were able to provide police with details of the house where they were kept. Both were shackled to a bed with a rough neck brace
Cervical collar
A cervical collar is an orthopedic medical device used to support a patient's neck and head. It is also used by emergency personnel for victims of traumatic head or neck injuries, and can be used to treat chronic medical conditions....
. One told detectives she heard planes landing, leading police to believe the house was on one of the flight paths to Melbourne Airport. Police checked houses in Keilor East, Niddrie, Airport West, Keilor Park and Essendon North.
On December 14, 2010 Victoria Police announced that a new Taskforce had been established about eight months earlier following substantial new intelligence. The new Taskforce has been reviewing both the Spectrum Taskforce investigation and some new leads that have come in the last year or so.
Investigation
Police have searched 30,000 homes and interviewed 27,000 suspects over the attacks, at a cost of $4 million. There is an AUD $300,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of Mr. Cruel. Police have admitted that some evidence retrieved from the crime scenes at the time have gone missing. One missing item is the tape used to bind one of the victims, which could have provided DNA samples of Mr. Cruel using new forensic technologies.External links
- Keith Moor, Mr. Cruel child rapist still free The Mercury (4-8-2003)