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DNA identifies 02 rape suspect
Samples from victim lead to man currently held in Fla. prison for an unrelated case
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    DNA samples taken from an elderly rape victim in 2002 have led to a match: a man currently held in a Florida prison is suspected in the crime.
    Statesboro Police Chief Stan York said officials from the Georgia Bureau of Investigations Crime Lab notified Statesboro Police detectives May 13 that samples submitted to the National CODIS (Combined DNA Index System) over six years ago has been matched to a “  ... male subject currently in prison in Florida for an unrelated case.”
    Statesboro Police detectives met with no results during the 2002/2003 investigation, where they offered a reward for information regarding the rape of a then-83-year-old woman on Johnson Street, he said.
    The woman was raped during a burglary Dec. 20, 2002, around 11:30 p.m., he said.
    The Statesboro Police Criminal Investigations Division collected DNA samples from the scene, and while “several leads were followed,” and the reward was offered, no one came forth with information, he said.
    Then, “The DNA profile identified in  this case was entered into the National CODIS system and detectives awaited any additional information,” he said.
    The “additional information” finally arrived in the form of a DNA match, he said.
    Statesboro Police detectives plan to  travel to Florida to interview the suspect, and are withholding his identity until “formal charges are made and the alleged offender is arrested,” York said.
    Anyone with information is asked to contact the Statesboro Police Department Criminal Investigation Division at (912) 764-1542, he said. Callers should ask for Det. Sgt. James Winskey, who is lead investigator in the case, he said.
    York said  the victim is still living in the Statesboro area.

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