Philadelphia

Alleged Pennypack Rapist Found in Wisconsin Prison, Charged in Philly Crimes

After three years of searching, Philadelphia Police say they have found the man responsible for a series of rapes in Pennypack Park.

Robert Palen, 38, is charged in two assaults — one from August 2010 and another from August 2011, the department's Special Victims Unit confirms to NBC10.

He was found in a Wisconsin prison where he had been serving time for an attack on a woman in that state, police said.

Palen was extradited back to Philadelphia over the weekend and arraigned on the charges that include Rape, Attempted Murder, Aggravated Assault, Indecent Assault and Recklessly Endangering Another Person, police said.

Detectives began investigating the case in August 2011 after a 24-year-old woman was beaten and raped inside Pennypack Park.

Lt. Anthony McFadden said Palen picked up the victim at Torresdale Avenue and Longshore Street in a white pickup truck with a ladder rack on the back. He drove to Cresco Avenue, they went into a wooded area of the park and the assault took place, McFadden said.

"He brutally beat her ... leaving her barely clothed, bleeding," McFadden said.

While investigating that incident, detectives realized the suspect's description and the circumstances matched an assault from a year prior. They put out a composite sketch and a third victim, who told police she was assaulted in July 2010, came forward, McFadden said.

"He immediately took advantage. Knocked them almost unconscious, removed their clothing and continued beating them to the point where they had fractures and multiple facial injuries," McFadden said.

Despite the information provided by victims and DNA evidence from one case being uploaded into the national FBI database, the case went cold.

Then, this March, the database came back with a forensic match from an investigation in Madison, Wis.

Palen, a married father and former contractor, left his family toward the end of 2012 and moved west. While there, he beat and sexually assaulted a woman he had met on a dating website, McFadden said. He was in jail when Philadelphia Police were made aware of the connection.

SVU detectives reopened the investigation, learned Palen lived near the area where the victims were picked up, found the man's former work truck and had victims identify him through a photo array.

"We had to track each victim down and start the investigation all over again," McFadden said.

The discovery came too late for one of the women, however. The third victim to come forward, a 26-year-old who detailed the first attack in July 2010, has since died, McFadden said. He said her passing makes it impossible for police to file charges in that case.

Palen is currently being held on $10 million bail, according to court documents.


Contact Vince Lattanzio at 610.668.5532, vince.lattanzio@nbcuni.com or follow @VinceLattanzio on Twitter.

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