I usually get my legal news from Court TV, so my anchors are by default a bit more stringent on using the correct terms. (Although these past few weeks have been more like watching the Soaps network.)
As I recall, 'alleged' is used with the name of the actual description (alleged rapist, alleged murderer, alleged father... etc.) 'Alleged perpetrator' would be the generic term.
Now, if there was a rumor that a given individual had been indicated by the police as a suspect, then that person would be an 'alleged suspect' until the police released their findings. However, I think the current stock phrase for that is 'person of interest'.
(no subject)
As I recall, 'alleged' is used with the name of the actual description (alleged rapist, alleged murderer, alleged father... etc.) 'Alleged perpetrator' would be the generic term.
Now, if there was a rumor that a given individual had been indicated by the police as a suspect, then that person would be an 'alleged suspect' until the police released their findings. However, I think the current stock phrase for that is 'person of interest'.