Possible deal in Hemlock rapist case

The lawyer for the man accused of being the Hemlock Crescent rapist says there may be a deal in the case.

"We're hoping by Friday that [the Crown] and I will be making an application to the court in regards to the furtherance of the charge," defence lawyer Larry Ross said.

His client, 62-year-old Emile Cromwell, made a brief court appearance Monday via closed-circuit television.

Crown Les Grieve wouldn't go so far as to call the discussions a possible deal.

"I can't rush the defence, and [for] Mr. Cromwell, it is a very serious decision for him probably the biggest decision of his life whether to take this to trial or resolve it," Grieve said. "That's up to Mr. Cromwell, but I have no part in that.

"He's talking with his lawyer and looking at all his options."

Cromwell faces 13 charges relating to four attacks on women between 1987 and 1992, including one on a 13-year-old babysitter.

In 1987, 1988, in the spring and summer of 1989 and in May of 1992, four women who lived on Hemlock Crescent in basement or main floor apartments were attacked in their homes.

In the last attack, a 13-year-old girl was sleeping on a couch when a man broke into the apartment, bound and gagged her and then assaulted her in a nearby field.

Police didn't make an arrest in the case until December 2004, and said advances in DNA technology helped their investigation.

with files from Canadian Press