On Sunday afternoon at Kirkwood CME Church in Dallas, dozens of members of the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority gathered to hear their national president, Cynthia Butler-McIntyre, address the congregation.
The sorority is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year. In two weeks, it will hold a centennial event in Dallas.
But, it has been a little over a year since the sorority’s chapters in Dallas were on high alert. Law enforcement believes the same man attacked four members of the sorority, raping three of them. And the man responsible has not yet been caught.
The attacks happened in Plano, Shady Shores and Coppell from November 2010 to October 2011. Police have released a sketch and surveillance video of the suspect.
“We talk about it on occasion,” said Regina Powe, a local member. “We’re not stupid,we make sure that we watch where we go, watch who’s looking at us, pay attention to who might be following us.”
She said that while she and her sisters remain watchful, it is frustrating that no arrest has been made in the case.
“I’ll be honest, it’s been a little frustrating that they have not been able to figure out who he is, and why he did what he did,” Powe said. “It’s a problem.”
It’s a problem national president Butler-McIntyre finds frustrating as well.
“Of course it is, of course it is,” Butler-McIntyre said. “We’re still vigilant and prayerful that that will also be resolved, very soon.”
The national organization of the Deltas hasn’t addressed the issue much publicly, but Butler-McIntyre says the incidents does worry the sorority.
“We are a sisterhood, founded on Christian principles and we are a sisterhood,” she said. “We are tied by commitment to service and because of that we care for one another. And that care goes beyond just our sisters, it goes to the great community and the greater world.”
On Sunday night, Plano police said there have been no new leads in the case and there have still not been any arrests.
“Everybody is aware,” said Dallas Delta Alumnae Chapter President Bobbye Sanders. “We just tell them to be aware of your surroundings at all times, and then we just focus on the good things, we don’t focus on the bad things that happen.”
Sanders says they’re focused on the upcoming centennial events and Powe says they’re doing so by keeping their faith in God.
“What's most important we believe that God will take care of us,” Powe said. “We just talk to each other and make sure that you're careful until they find the person who did it.”
Anyone with information about the attacks or the man's identity is asked to contact the Plano Police Department Tip Line at 972-941-2148 or the Crime Stoppers Tip Line at 877-373-8477.
“That’s just the world, you move on,” Sanders said. “You don’t’ dwell on the past, you look at the present and look forward to the future.”
The future event the Deltas are focused on is the Centennial Torch Run. It takes place in Dallas from Feb. 21 to Feb. 24 and is just one of 22 cities to host the torch and centennial events connected to the sorority.
