"Mr Cruel" is an Australian serial child rapist and suspected child murderer who attacked three girls in the northern and eastern suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria, in the late 1980s and early 1990s. He is also the prime suspect in the 1991 abduction and murder of a fourth girl, Karmein Chan. His moniker came from a newspaper headline in Melbourne Sun News-Pictorial. Mr. Cruel has never been identified, and his three confirmed attacks and the suspected murder remain unsolved cold cases. There is a reward of A$200,000 for the two abductions. In April 2016, twenty-five years after the death of Karmein Chan, Victoria Police increased the reward for information that leads to the perpetrator's arrest and conviction, from A$100,000 to A$1,000,000. Police describe Mr. Cruel as highly intelligent. He meticulously planned each attack, conducted surveillance on the victims and their families, ensured he left no forensic traces, protected his identity by covering his face at all times, and left red herrings to divert family and/or police attention. He was soft-spoken, and his behaviour was unhurried, as he took a break during an attack in a victim's house to eat a meal. He threatened to injure his victims or their family members with a knife or a handgun. Crimes On 22 August 1987 in Lower Plenty, a man wearing a balaclava broke into a family home at 4:00am, armed with a knife and a handgun. He tied the hands and feet of both parents, and locked them in a wardrobe. He then tied the son to a bed, and raped the 11-year-old daughter. He had cut the phone lines. On 27 December 1988 in Ringwood, the assailant broke into a family home via the back door at about 5:20am, again wearing a balaclava and armed with a handgun. He bound and gagged the parents, and demanded money. He then grabbed their 10-year-old daughter, put tape over her eyes and a ball gag in her mouth, and abducted her. She was released eighteen hours later on the grounds of Bayswater High School. On 3 July 1990 in Canterbury, the assailant broke into a family home at 11:30pm, armed with a knife and a gun, and wearing a balaclava. He tied and gagged a 13-year-old girl, placed tape over her eyes, disabled the phones, and searched for money. He then drove her to another house and molested her for fifty hours before releasing her