John Mark Clarke

[June 19th, 2002] On Sept. 20, 2000, a white male in his mid-30s, standing approximately 6-foot-3, clean-cut, with straight blond hair, approached a female prostitute outside an adult video store on West Burnside Street. They walked down a block to a staircase, whereupon the man dragged her up the stairs and attempted to rape her. Her screams alerted a co-worker, who rushed over and interrupted the assault. On April 6, 2001, a man with a similar description raped a woman in a hotel bathroom. These assaults (and others) were reported by the Portland Bad Date Line, a network run by volunteers through which sex workers can report assaults without fear of prosecution. Now the Bad Date Line thinks that John Mark Clarke , 39, informally referred to as "Mullethead," may be connected to these and other assaults.

The network is not alone in its suspicions. Portland police want to question Clarke about a case reported in April of this year, when a man with a similar description raped another prostitute whom he picked up on West Burnside. In addition, authorities have issued two warrants for his arrest: one for soliciting prostitutes, the other for failing to appear in court in King County, Wash., in connection with a rape case there. Clarke was charged with rape in Multnomah County in 2001, but the charge was later dismissed. Police consider Clarke a fugitive from justice.

"We have reason to believe that he targets prostitutes," says Sgt. Keith Morse, who heads the Portland Police Bureau's sex and bias crimes unit. "Until he's taken into custody, all prostitutes are at risk."

According to the Bad Date Line, Clarke, whose last known address was in Beaverton, drives a white van and frequents bars and video establishments on West Burnside. Anyone with any information about Clarke is encouraged to contact the Sex Crimes Unit of the Portland Police Bureau at (503) 823-0434. You can also contact the Bad Date Line at (503) 816-0996 or www.portlandbad-dateline.org or leave a message at Miss Mona's Rack (628 E Burnside St.) between 10 am and 7 pm Tuesday-Saturday.