Mr. Cruel

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"Mr. Cruel" is the name given to an Australian murderer 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.

On 22 August 1987 in Lower Plenty, a man broke into a family home at 4am 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 11 year old daughter was attacked. He cut the phone lines.
27 December 1988 in Ringwood. He broke into the backdoor at 5.30am, armed with a knife and a gun. He bound and gagged the parents, and demanded money. He kidnapped the 10 year old daughter, Sharon Wills, put tape over her eyes, and released her at a high school 18 hours later.
3 July 1990 in Canterbury. He broke into a house at 11.30pm and tied and gagged a 13 year old girl named Nicola Lynas. He placed tape over her eyes and disabled the phones. He drove her to another house and molested her for 50 hours before releasing her.
13 April 1991 in Templestowe. Armed with a knife, he abducted Karmein Chan (a 13 year old girl). Her body, with three gunshots to the head, was found a year later.

Mr Cruel is believed to have videotaped or perhaps taken still photographs of his attacks. He plans his crimes extensively - for example, in one case he abducted a girl and told her where he would dump her after he was finished raping her, and indeed he did. He bathed his victims carefully, and wiped benchtops etc for fingerprints. The modus operandi in each case is so similar that police believe it is the same man in each case.

There was an urban legend circulating in Melbourne at the time which stated that Asian drug dealers were responsible for Karmein's disappearance. Many other urban legends also surrounded this case including one that stated "Mr Cruel" had held two Melbourne sisters hostage in their own home for 3 days during a public holiday weekend in 1985.

The case created mass hysteria in Melbourne at the time due to a now-banned series of graphic re-enactments shown on television during prime time.

Most of his attacks occurred during school holidays. Police believe that he may be employed at a school.

[edit] The investigation

Police have searched 30,000 homes and interviewed 27,000 suspects over the attacks, at a cost of $4 million. They do have a prime suspect, against whom they have insufficient evidence to prosecute.

There is an AUD $300,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of Mr Cruel.