Cops Catch Break, Use DNA To Nail Suspected Rapist

(CBS) JERSEY CITY, N.J. Police said for the last two years they've been looking for Elmo Rivadeniera, an accused serial rapist they said is responsible for at least three sex attacks in New York City and New Jersey.

Viola Neale lives next door to his family's Kearny home.

"It scares the hell out of ya -- what's goin' on today," Neale said.

Another neighbor said she's not surprised by the news of his recent arrest, adding, "I told my daughter, you see that guys sitting on his steps right there? I showed her from our living room. She says, 'yeah'. I says I'm telling ya now, if he's on this side of the street you go on the opposite side."

Investigators said they're are also close to linking Rivadeniera to six additional rapes.

In all of the attacks, which took place in crowed areas of Manhattan and suburban neighborhoods in New Jersey, the victims were abducted, usually at knifepoint.

They were then taken to a remote area, raped, and then left -- often naked -- in industrial sections of Newark and Elizabeth.

Detectives got their break when they found Rivadeniera's DNA on his cell phone, which he dropped during an attempted abduction.

"It was traced to a repair shop, which led us to an individual, who reported to us that they gave the phone to Elmo Rivadeniera," Hudson County prosecutor Ed Defazio said.

Detectives said Rivadeniera has worked as an auto mechanic in several shops, including one in West Orange. They said he would fix the vehicles by day, but at night he would allegedly use them to carry out those abductions.

A woman at S&P Auto Tech, who told us she was his manager, said Rivadeniera worked there "for several months," and that he had access to the cars in the lot.

Rivadeniera now has access to a cell in the Hudson County Jail, where he's being held without bail on kidnapping, aggravated sexual assault, and other charges.