Rape Suspect Linked To Oregon Assault

A man accused of raping, kidnapping and robbing a Horseshoe Bend, Idaho, teenager is suspected of assaulting an Oregon woman four days earlier, authorities say.

Police are searching for Franklin Edward Ruffato, 46, in connection with the attack Monday. A man raped the teen, tied her to a tree and stole her car. He boasted of raping 25 other women and killing three of them.

Ruffato has a history of sexual offenses which spans two decades. He was last in custody three months ago when he was accused of raping a Portland woman.

That case was dropped for insufficient evidence, Portland police said Friday.

Authorities in Hillsboro, Ore., suspect Ruffato raped a woman there Aug. 10.

Ruffato may be the man who knocked on the Horseshoe Bend teen’s door Monday, Ada County sheriff’s Capt. Roy Holloway said.

The girl said he forced his way into her home and raped her at knifepoint. He then ordered her to drive him 20 miles to the Dry Creek area, where he raped her again and tied her to a tree, she said.

He drove away in her 1988 Ford Tempo - a dark gray four-door sedan with Idaho plates 6B 8254. She untied herself from the tree, ran to a farmhouse and called police.

She picked out Ruffato’s photograph from a lineup.

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