Fort Apache Indian Reservation, Ariz. – A man in a dark shirt and hat emblazoned with “Police” has raped 10 girls and a young woman after “arresting” them – a string of attacks that has made people on the reservation suspicious of even the real officers investigating the case.
Residents of the tribal capital of Whiteriver are bolting their doors, walking in pairs and demanding that their children be inside by sundown.
“It’s unsettling,” said Gwendena Real Bird, who has a 5-year- old daughter. “It makes you very uneasy. I just can’t fathom the trauma those girls experienced.”
The phony police officer has been attacking victims since March on a dusty trail that winds behind more than 100 homes in Whiteriver. He tells his victims they are under arrest, then handcuffs and rapes them.
At first, nine of the 11 victims did not report that they had been attacked because they thought a police officer raped them.
Eight came forward only when investigators canvassed the neighborhood recently to tell residents what was happening. Police found another victim after receiving an anonymous call.
Whiteriver, population 5,220, is the headquarters of the White Mountain Apache Tribe. It is the largest community on the Fort Apache Indian Reservation, which covers more than 1.5 million acres in Arizona.
