Trespasses

by Howard Swindle

The "Ski Mask" rapist assaulted perhaps as many as one hundred Dallas women from 1985 to 1990. Starkly, Swindle juxtaposes the unremarkable everyday life of Gilbert Escobedo - faithful churchgoer and natty, attractive, successful businessman - with the lurid fantasy world he acted out with such cunning and brazen persistence. Trespasses chronicles the serial rapes and the police investigation to the point at which Escobedo's obsession and arrogance led to his arrest. It takes a compelling look at one of the most heinous crimes and the latest research on it, illuminated by two years of talk with Escobedo in prison and by the strength, candor, and insight of many of his victims. Trespasses transcends stereotypes and statistics to uncover the real faces, traumas, fears, and hopes behind the more than 100,000 yearly rapes in this country.