Houston police call for possible victims of alleged serial rapist to come forward after new arrest
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- A 62-year-old man is now in custody after being linked to multiple rape cases since 1997, according to the Houston Police Department.
The suspect was identified as Philip Cerf. Houston Mayor John Whitmire, HPD Chief J. Noe Diaz, and FBI officials announced his official arrest after Cerf was charged with four counts of aggravated sexual assault last week.
Cerf's alleged crimes include being accused of luring a woman into his car and raping her at gunpoint in 1997, according to court records. Investigators also accused Cerf of sexual crimes in 2009, 2013, and a 2016 rape case where a woman was raped at gunpoint in the north Houston area, records alleged.
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Officials said that it was possible Cerf drove trucks for nearly 16 years, with six years driving in Houston singularly.
According to court documents, investigators linked all four rapes together in July 2025 and identified Cerf as a suspect in 2026. Officials said the victims were all of different ages and races, and each woman was allegedly approached late at night.
According to documents, undercover officers began surveilling him at his Atascocita apartment in April and were able to obtain his DNA for testing.
An officer reportedly saw him spit on the ground and gathered the evidence, and it matched DNA collected from all four victims, according to charging documents.
Investigators said at the time of the crimes, all four victims had rape kits that helped with results.
"The first link that we got was a case-to-case link; it wasn't a connection to an actual person. All four cases connected from the profiles that were already in the system, saying, 'Hey, this is the same suspect as these three other cases," said Houston Police Asst. Chief Luis Menendez-Sierra.
Officials said detectives were able to connect the case through public genealogy information and building a family tree after identifying Cerf's family member through the DNA collected.
Investigators said Cerf may have committed additional assaults and are looking for any potential victims to come forward.
"Since the charging of the suspect, we have already been contacted by a possible victim from 1988. Investigators are currently following up with that victim," Menendez-Sierra said.
Cerf is currently being held on no bond, officials said. He's due in court August 20th.
