‘Malibu Rapist’ facing charges in 15 additional cold case sex crimes, Orlando police say - WKMG News 6 & ClickOrlando

ORLANDO, Fla. – A convicted serial rapist is now facing charges in 15 more sex crime cases that occurred decades ago, according to the Orlando Police Department.

George Girtman was nicknamed the “Malibu Rapist” after a string of sexual batteries in the 1980s and 1990s in the Malibu Homes subdivision in Orlando. He’s currently serving a life sentence in connection with those crimes.

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On Monday, police announced that they reexamined more than two dozen sexual battery and attempted sexual battery investigations and made the decision to close out 26 of them and file charges against Girtman in 15 of them.

“The actions of this man have impacted countless lives, including the survivors of his crimes, and the families, friends, detectives, prosecutors, religious leaders, elected leaders and state legislators who have worked to support those survivors,” the department said in a news release.

A survivor, Orlando Police Chief Orlando Rolón and other community leaders are expected to discuss the case Tuesday at 11 a.m.

State lawmakers recently passed a Florida law called the “DNA Evidence Collected in Sexual Offense Investigations” which would require the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to create and maintain a statewide database for tracking rape kits. The law became known as the “Gail Act,” named after Gail Gardner, an Orlando woman who was raped in 1988.

“This serial rapist, many more, [Gail Act] had their DNA matched up with all those who he had caused this grief of rape,” Sen. Linda Stewart said.

Gardner waited more than 30 years for her rapist to be identified because her sexual assault kit went untested for decades. She told CBS 12 her kit was tested in 2019 after she requested the records from her case from Orlando police.

“For 30 years she was looking over her shoulder and she didn’t know if that person might come back,” Stewart said.

The law also requires FDLE to ensure victims are notified regarding the status of their rape kits.

“It doesn’t matter if he is serving 20 years, 30 years. Whoever he has raped, he needs to go to court and have a sentence for that person, one survivor, two survivors, however many there are as closure,” Stewart said.

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