A former American River College student was arrested earlier today in connection with the violent sexual assault that occurred Tuesday in the Subway sandwich shop near campus where he worked.
The suspect, Kenneth Chandler Anderson, 22, last attended ARC in the Spring 2011 semester and was a psychology major.
Anderson referenced the attack on his Tumblr page saying “I’m worried about my coworker and how she is doing (because) I haven’t heard from her, the cops aren’t talking about the investigation, I’m worried about my safety.”
WARNING: Graphic content. To view screenshots of posts from Anderson’s Tumblr page regarding the sexual assault at Subway and other recent attacks nearby, click here.
Sacramento Sheriff’s Detectives arrested Anderson who, according to a media release, was booked “into the Sacramento County Main Jail on four felony and one misdemeanor charges related to the brutal attack.”
The sketches of the serial rapist bear a “striking resemblance” to Anderson, said Sgt. Lisa Bowman, the Sheriff’s spokesperson.
The serial rapist has been attacking women for the last few months near campus and along the I-80 corridor, with the most recent attack occurring Jan. 8.
The sheriff’s department requested a comparison of Anderson’s DNA and that of the serial rapist due to the physical similarities and the way in which the attacks occurred.
According to Bowman, all the victim’s coworkers were interviewed, and based on Anderson’s appearance and the description given to police by the victim, he was questioned.
Daniel Romandia, 22, a journalism major at ARC, attended Mira Loma High School with Anderson and said he knew him “very well.”
Romandia describes Anderson as being very “cocky” and “full of himself,” saying, “he thought he was smarter, like he was above people,” and that it often put people off.
He also said that Anderson was teased for being overweight and having asthma and didn’t have many girlfriends.
Romandia said that althought he did see the sketches of the previous rape attacks, he “never made the connection.”
Now comparing Anderson’s mug shot and the sketches he said, “they do look like him.”
Anderson is currently in custody and being held on a $1 million bail. Anyone with information concerning the rape at the Auburn Boulevard Subway or the I-80 rapes is encouraged to contact the Sheriff’s Department at (916) 874-5070.
Xoe Schotte • Mar 28, 2014 at 5:58 pm
I’m wondering what the relevance of him “never really having many girlfriends” is. Does not having many girlfriends throughout high school make someone a likely candidate to become a rapist? I’m not discounting the fact that he was, I’m sure, arrested for good reason and with some form of evidence that he did it. It just seems to me like Daniel Romandia (who is a former Current staff member, if I remember correctly?) is adding details that may or may not even be relevant to this situation. I don’t feel that anything he says has anything to do with this case. Oh, he was cocky several years ago in high school? And he seemed to think he was above others? These two statements describe most of the guys that went to my high school.
I also feel like there’s some overwhelming speculation that he could be the serial rapist. Obviously it’s worth looking into because of the resemblance to the police sketches and similarity of the attacks. But again, there’s this:
“Romandia said that he did see the sketches of the previous rape attacks but that he “never made the connection.” Now comparing Anderson’s mug shot and the sketches he said “they do look like him.””
Of course he “never made the connection.” There wasn’t really a connection. There’s literally hundreds of people on ARC’s campus that look similar to the police sketch, and even more in the general area.
Again, maybe Anderson is the serial rapist. But maybe he’s not (not to say that raping one girl is in any way more acceptable than raping four). I just feel like this article has a certain tone of assumption, before the facts are even out.
Maybe before you make everyone believe this guy is a serial rapist, see what the Sheriff’s DNA test comes back with. In the mean time, just mention that they’re looking into a connection.