The DNA report shows a white male with green eyes and reddish brown or blond hair.
More than two months after the initial report of an at-large sexual predator in the Athens area, the Athens Police Department released new information about the case Wednesday.
At Athens Mayor Steve Patterson’s weekly news conference at the Athens City Building, Athens Investigative Lt. Jeff McCall joined Athens Police Chief Tom Pyle to distribute copies of a phenotype report made from DNA evidence collected from three separate cases dating back to June 2006.
A phenotype report is a prediction of a person’s appearance based on DNA, sometimes used in criminal investigations.
Pyle said he thinks the report is "a very accurate composite" of the suspect in the ongoing sexual assault investigation.
The suspect is wanted for his alleged involvement in three reported sex-related crimes. Police have said all three took place near the Uptown area and targeted college-aged women. In the June 2006 incident, according to an APD release, the man allegedly followed a woman home, entered her residence illegally and sexually assaulted her.
The composite shows a male of Northern European ancestry with fair or very fair skin. He is said to have green or hazel eyes and reddish brown or blond hair. There is also the possibility that he has some freckles.
“These are all very good bits of information to strengthen our identification of the potential suspect,” Pyle said, adding this is the first time such technology has been used by Athens police and, to his knowledge, by any police department in the state of Ohio.
The suspect is shown in the composite to be 25 years old with a body mass index of 22, which was the technology’s default setting and not necessarily indicative of the suspect’s age or physical stature.
McCall said the age of the suspect is assumed to be “30 plus or minus a couple years.”
Since this winter, police have said the suspect was likely about 5-foot-8 to 5-foot-9 inches tall and weighing about 150 to 160 pounds.
The new report includes two renditions of the suspect: one with a baseball cap and one without. Those details, including the hairstyle in the second version were given by "at least one of the victims," Pyle said.
Other than those details and the suspect’s DNA, Pyle said police provided no further information to Parabon NanoLabs Inc., the company compiling the report. An initial police sketch was not included in those details sent to Parabon NanoLabs Inc., Pyle said.
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That firm is a DNA technology company, according to its website, that develops "next-generation" therapeutic and forensic products to leverage the "enormous power of DNA."
Pyle said he was unsure if the report would be admissible in court, but it may already be proving helpful.
“Just within the department there were several suggestions made as to suspects once people saw (the report),” Pyle said.
The City of Athens and the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation shared the cost of financing the report, Pyle also said.
Athens City Council appropriated $8,500 to the Law Enforcement Trust Fund for the "ongoing sexual assault investigation," according to an ordinance passed March 7. Councilman Jeff Risner, D-2nd Ward, introduced the ordinance on Feb. 15.
Pyle said council members appropriated “top dollar” for the report, but he added that the final cost was "significantly" below what was appropriated. He did not pinpoint an exact dollar amount.
“(The cost) isn’t terrible,” Pyle said. “It’s not multiple thousands of dollars.”
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