Melvin Alfred Carter (born 1944) is an American serial rapist who confessed to at least 100 rapes of women in Northern California, between 1971 and 1980.
College Terrace is an area of about 24 blocks immediately adjacent to Escondido Village in Stanford University.
[3] Eleven women living in College Terrace were raped at knifepoint by Carter between 1971 and 1980 and reported their attacks to police,[4] and it is estimated that up to 20 to 25 single women in the neighborhood were raped by Carter when one includes assaults not reported to authorities.
[5] One of the rape victims, a 32-year-old lawyer named Susan, wrote about her experience for a creative writing class.
[5] A decoy house was established in one residence, staffed by a female undercover officer who left her doors and windows open in an attempt to lure in the rapist.
Costa suspected that the rapist knew that undercover officers were in the area, and was as a result intentionally lying low.
This caused the rapist to drop his guard, and when Costa returned more quietly, he immediately found and questioned Carter.
[7] In 2018, he was jailed again in Livingston County, New York after being accused of failing to register as a sex offender as required by his earlier convictions.
[8] Carter's case led directly to an increase in the statute of limitations for rape in California.