Person of interest in Waldo-area rapes charged in four rapes from 1980s

On Wednesday afternoon, at about 4 p.m., officers arrested 52-year-old Bernard Jackson after a short foot pursuit. Jackson was inside a house in the 3200 block of Thompson, an acquaintance’s house, and officers saw him walk out the rear door of the house. When Jackson saw the officers, he fled on foot and was taken into custody in the 3200 block of Smart.

Jackson was developed as a person of interest in the Waldo rape investigations through good detective work using information and evidence gathered during the investigation. While investigating Jackson, detectives linked him to four unsolved rapes from 1983 and 1984 in Kansas City. He has been charged with those crimes. Those rapes took place in a very similar area and were very similar to the most recent assaults. The charges in these cases are: 6 counts of rape, 5 counts of sodomy, and 4 counts of robbery.

While Jackson is considered a person of interest in the Waldo rapes, additional investigation is necessary before he can be charged with those crimes. Detectives are still following leads in the case and analyzing evidence.


During the course of the investigation we received nearly 1,000 tips. Detectives have logged several thousand hours investigating these leads.


While our work is not done, I want to take this time to thank the community for their support and commend them for pulling together during this difficult time. I also want to commend the detectives and police officers who worked very hard on this case.

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