Cold Case Rape, Sodomy: Police Announce Hemet Man's Arrest

Murrieta CA

15 July, 2021

12:47 PM

Description

HEMET, CA — A man suspected of raping and sodomizing a 19-year-old woman in Escondido more than two decades ago was arrested this week in Hemet. Mark Thompson Hunter, 64, was taken into custody Tuesday by Escondido police and booked into Vista Detention Facility at 4:51 p.m. on suspicion of rape, forcible rape, forcible sodomy and forcible oral copulation, jail records show. According to the records, Hunter was not eligible for bail. He's due in court Thursday for arraignment. The allegations against Hunter stem back to February 17, 1999, around 8:30 p.m., Escondido Lt. Bode Berreth said. Hunter approached the victim at a gas station convenience store on Grand Avenue south of Rose Street in Escondido and asked her for directions to a nearby Super 7 Motel, Berreth said. The woman agreed to drive her car to show him to the motel and let him follow in his vehicle. Near Valley Parkway and Fig Street, Thompson motioned for her to pull over at a nearby parking lot, the lieutenant said. She got out and approached his vehicle, and that's when Hunter allegedly pulled her into his van, drove her to another location and raped her, Berreth said. Investigators were unable to identify a suspect at the time, but detectives continued pursuing the case and collaborated with the FBI. DNA collected from the original crime was recently resubmitted and led investigators to identify Hunter as the suspect, Berreth said. "The FBI is proud to have assisted the Escondido Police Department in this important investigation, as we do with many of our law enforcement partners," said FBI Special Agent in Charge Suzanne Turner. "It is our goal to contribute in any way to help solve these cold cases wherein victims and their families have been deprived of justice for so long. It's been a long time coming, however the successful resolution to this crime of horrible sexual violence demonstrates our commitment to pursuing justice no matter how long it takes."