Forty-one years to the day since the East Area Rapist broke into his house, tied him up, and raped his girlfriend, Victor Hayes is now speaking out.

“He said, ‘Don’t move or I’ll kill you, don’t move or I’ll shoot you, don’t move or I’ll kill you,’ Hayes said. “Then he said, ‘Roll over,’ and he had two shoelaces in his pocket.”

Hayes took CNN to the same levee road he believes the East Area Rapist used to make many of his escapes in Sacramento County.

“So, the cops would come over here off of La Riviera Boulevard, and he’s already on the other side of the river,” Hayes said.

On Oct. 1, 1977, Hayes was in this home near the river when he awoke to the ear-shining a flashlight in his face.

He was tied up and his girlfriend was taken into another room for 30 minutes and raped.

“It’s just basically a personal nightmare that won’t go away,” Hayes said.



This is the first Oct. 1 since a suspect is under arrest.

Joseph DeAngelo, the one-time Auburn police officer, is behind bars, accused of being the East Area Rapist.

“The night that he came to my house I believe he was working,” Hayes said.

Hayes says he remembers the pants the East Area Rapist was wearing the night of his attack.

He believes they were DeAngelo’s on-duty uniform.

“I know what police officers’ khaki trousers look like, and they were light tan in color,” Hayes said. “They could’ve been green.”

Auburn police wore light blue uniforms in the 1970s.

The interim police chief released a statement in response to Hayes’ claims stating, “we do not have any information to show he was on-duty or off-duty as an Auburn officer to date.”

“Police are supposed to know,” Hayes said. “I don’t know is not good enough.”

Hayes says he believes DeAngelo used training and resources in his position with the police department to carry out the crime against him.

He’s considering suing.

“Well, of course, they owe me something,” Hayes said. “They’re partially responsible for him. They’re derelict of duty in his supervision.”

Hayes also says investigators with the sheriff’s department have not talked to him since their initial interview the night of the attack 41 years ago.

“I’m a forgotten survivor in this whole thing,” Hayes said.

Time has not healed Hayes.

“Every day has been Oct. 1 for me for 41 years. Truthfully. It’s never gone away,” Hayes said.

Hayes says he has not gone to any of DeAngelo’s court appearances yet.

He plans to attend the trial, which could be several years away.

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