In each of the attacks, the suspect severely beat the women with his fists, causing facial fractures and, in one case, breaking the victim's jaw.
One victim, who remains hospitalized, was beaten so badly that police have been unable to interview her.
The first attack happened Oct. 4; similiar incidents were reported Oct. 20 and Nov. 8. The last attack occurred Monday.
In the last incident, the suspect told the victim that his name was "Sean." He displayed a box cutter, the only time any of the women have been threatened with a weapon.
A composite sketch was produced after the first assault in October, but investigators cannot say that the same person is responsible for all four rapes.
One of the victims was only able to describe her attacker's race.
"Quite frankly, we don't know if one or more persons are perpetrating these crimes out there," said Capt. John Darby, commander of the Special Victims Unit.
Although the suspect lured one woman into an abandoned home after negotiating a price for sex, police refused to characterize the victims as prostitutes.
"They're what we consider high-risk victims," Darby said.
In the first case, a 32-year-old woman reported being pushed into a vacant lot and attacked in the 900 block of East Ontario Street. The second victim, a 41-year-old woman, said she was pulled into an alley in the 3300 block of Kensington Avenue.
The last two attacks occurred in the same area of East Sterner Street: a 27-year-old said she was raped on the nearby train tracks, and a 32-year-old woman who accompanied the suspect into an abandoned house.
Darby said he was concerned there could be more victims who have not come forward.
The suspect has been described as a black male in his late 20s to mid 30s and about 6 feet tall with a stocky or muscular build.
During the investigation, detectives uncovered a second series of alleged rapes and arrested a 25-year-old Philadelphia man.
Kevin Maxwell, of the 3500 block of Woodhaven Road, faces charges in four attacks. Maxwell denied raping the women but acknowledging meeting them on the street and paying them for sex.
In each case, the women reported that Maxwell picked them up in a blue pickup, forced them to have sex, and photographed the encounters.
In two cases, the women reported that Maxwell robbed them. Three of the attacks happened after Maxwell drove the women to a cemetery on Adams Avenue. One woman said she was attacked in a lot after she protested his plan to drive to a cemetery.
Only one of the alleged victims contacted police, in April. Maxwell was questioned at the time but released.
The three other women who later identified Maxwell did not initially lodge complaints. They reported the incidents when contacted by detectives investigating the other series of attacks.
Maxwell is not a suspect in the more violent pattern of rapes, Darby said.
Anyone with information on those attacks should contact the Special Victims Unit at 215-685-3252/3265.
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