Sacramento Police Department NorCal rapist sketch and Roy Charles Waller
Police announced today that Roy Charles Waller, 58, has been identified via DNA as the suspected NorCal Rapist who terrorized women from 1991 to 2006. Waller has been arrested. Here is what we know so far about Roy Charles Waller and the NorCal rapist. This is a developing story.
1. Police Identified Waller as the Suspect Through DNA Analysis
BREAKING: Sacramento police chief announces Roy Charles Waller has been arrested on suspicion of several rapes throughout multiple counties for more than a decade . He was taken into custody in Berkeley.
During a press conference, officials shared that Roy Charles Waller was identified as the NorCal rapist suspect through DNA analysis. They referred to the DNA as the “silent witness to truth.”
He was not awarded bail and arraignment is set for Monday, officials said during the press conference.
A combination of DNA evidence and photos led to his arrest, officials said. One victim who saw him in 2006 described him as a white male, 37 to 40 years old, having a pronounced gut and weighing 200 to 250 pounds.
2. Waller Lived in Benicia and Worked at UC Berkeley for 25 Years as a Safety Specialist
Officials said during the press conference that Waller lived in Benicia and had a job at UC Berkeley. He had the same job for 25 years, officials said, and was arrested at his workplace (other sources say he was arrested on his way to work.) A staff directory for Berkeley’s Office of Environment, Health, & Safety lists a “Roy Waller” as being a safety specialist there. University officials confirmed that Waller had worked in the campus’s Environment, Health & Safety office since 1992. There are no indications that any crimes occurred on campus.
Suspected NorCal rapist, Roy Waller worked in UC Berkeley’s Environment, Health & Safety office since 1992 as a safety specialist, university says
A LinkedIn profile that matches the police’s description of Waller’s job and has the same name does not include any other information about Waller, including any previous jobs or his education.
You can find records of some of the projects he worked on with UC Berkeley online. For example, his name is attached to this PDF article about ATV and Snowmobile Safety Gear from UC Berkeley. In this article he’s listed as the EH&S Back-country Specialist, who can help with ideas about safety and PPE equipment for backcountry work and research. He’s listed on numerous safety stories for UC Berkeley, including a story about a Respiratory Protection Program and a PDF story about a Forklift safety program. He’s also cited in a 2013 annual report as working with SawStop to lower the prices and negotiate free shipping on table saws.
A diagram of the staff tree and hierarchy indicates that he was not in a management role at the university as of September 17, 2018.
According to Transparent California, he was paid $68,962 in 2017, with overtime pay of $2,768. Total pay when combined with benefits was $96,495.
A statement from UC Berkeley reads: “According to UCPD and the Sacramento Police Department, there is no indication that any crimes occurred within the campus community, however UCPD will be reviewing any open sexual assault cases to determine if any might be related.”
3. The Suspect Is Married & He Has Been Charged with 12 Counts of Sexual Assault
Officials also said that the suspect was married, but it’s not yet known if he had children or grandchildren.
He has been charged with 12 counts of forceable sexual assault, including two victims in Sacramento County and 10 other victims across six counties, officials said during the press conference.
4. The NorCal Rapist Terrorized Six Counties from 1991-2006, Attacking at Least 10 Women
Investigators say NorCal Rapist Suspect Roy Charles Waller was arrested yesterday in Berkeley near his workplace UC Berkeley.
The NorCal rapist had not been caught despite terrorizing six counties from 1991 to 2006, officials said. This is not the same case as the East Area Rapist/Golden State Killer. He had attacked at least 10 women through 2006. He started out targeting women in Rohnert Park, but then moved on to Davis, Chico, and Sacramento, SacBee reported. According to officials, he often targeted Asian women in their 20s and 30s.
The Sacramento Bee compiled a list of the nine of his victims, including their ages, year of the attack, and where the attacks took place.
- 1991: 21 years old, Rohnert Park
- 1992: 30 years old, Vallejo
- 1996: 39 years old, Martinez
- 1997: Two women, 29 years old, Davis
- 1998: 21 years old, Chico
- 2000: 22 years old, Davis
- 2006: Two women, 24 and 28 years old, Sacramento
The NorCal rapist entered homes late at night and would bind the women and sexually assault them. Sometimes he would drive them to ATMs to withdraw money, SFWeekly reported.
5. The NorCal Rapist Once Posed as a Trick-or-Treater To Get Into a Victim’s Home
The NorCal rapist once posed as a trick-or-treater in order to get into someone’s home, SacBee reported. Twenty days later, he called to apologize. His last attack, in October 2006, involved two women in North Natomas. He tied them up in their home and was stabbed during the attack.
He would often have a gun with him during attacks or tell victims that he was armed.
This is a developing story.