Rape kits were used to connect three sexual assaults that occurred over a span of 10 years in Athens.
The Athens Police Department was recently able to link three sexual assault cases to a serial "predator" through DNA evidence.
APD announced Jan. 28 that it received results from the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation that connected a Dec. 12 sexual assault to two others, one in June 2015 and the other in June 2006, according to a previous Post report.
The department, along with other law enforcement agencies, uses DNA testing to connect sexual assault cases.
Here’s how a rape kit, which is a collection of DNA evidence taken within 96 hours after an alleged sexual assault, is tested once a nurse conducts an extensive exam.
After a rape kit is sealed by a nurse or doctor, it is sent to a branch of Ohio’s Bureau of Criminal Investigation, or BCI.
Typically, rape kits collected in Athens are sent to the BCI branch in London, though they could be sent to another agency if it is less busy, BCI's Technical Leader Lewis Maddox said.
“For example, if London was to get a larger influx and Richfield was a little low, we move things around,” Maddox said. “It varies. Right now, Richfield serves more of an urban area, like Cleveland and Akron. But they’re close to equal.”
The rape kit screening is completed at three labs, in London, Richfield and Bowling Green, and DNA testing is completed in either London or Richfield.
Maddox said he could not comment on which facility the rape kits used in the ongoing Athens’ investigation were sent to.
In the case, APD is looking for a white male in his late 20s to early 30s, 5-feet-8-inches to 5-feet-9-inches tall and weighing approximately 160 pounds, according to a previous Post report.
Once a rape kit is received, a biological scientist then will screen its contents by examining what was collected, including vaginal, anal and semen samples, and sometimes samples collected in underwear, Maddox said.
Though Maddox couldn’t comment on Athens' specific investigation, he said the process for DNA connections can be made through a Combined DNA Index System, which is a criminal justice database.
“In general, after the DNA process is done, a profile is entered into a (Combined DNA Index System) database, where all evidence profiles are entered,” Maddox said. “When those profiles are put into the (system), they are searched against all profiles, and they can get a notification back that can give a name associated with another case.”
The entire process usually takes about a month or less, Jill Del Greco, a spokeswoman for BCI, said. In 2010 it could take closer to about 126 days, Maddox said.
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Maddox said he did not know how many rape kits Athens had sent.
Though rape kits can yield DNA evidence to find potential suspects, not everyone who has been sexually assaulted will come forward to complete the process to collect evidence for a rape kit, Maddox said.
“There could be, although, based on our records we had submitted, all the same kits we had in our possession well prior to any of this happening,” Athens Police Chief Tom Pyle said. “So what we’re theorizing is that there were cases that happened that are unreported that somebody will come forward and say, ‘I think I was raped by this guy in 2010 or whatever.’ That presumes that the suspect was here at that time for the entire time.”
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