Suspect arrested in St. Pete sexual assault 7 years later after DNA matches evidence: SPPD
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The St. Petersburg Police Department made a breakthrough in a 2017 sexual assault case with the help of advanced DNA technology.
David Person, 67, was charged in connection with the sexual assault, according to officers.
"We were notified within the last month or two that the subject had been arrested for a separate drug charge," SPPD Asst. Chief Mike Kovacsev said.
RELATED: Man accused in violent 2017 St. Pete sexual assault arrested
The department's Special Victims Unit received a hit from the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) that Person’s DNA from a recent arrest matched DNA evidence from the case seven years ago.
"If somebody commits a crime, and they leave behind a profile, whether it be blood, semen and or another, aspect, essentially touch DNA was another one, they're able to link those individuals back if they entered the system, usually for felony, sometimes for certain misdemeanors," Kovacsev said.
Police said in 2017 that a woman was sexually assaulted, but no arrest was made at the time. Investigators said the suspect came from behind and knocked the victim unconscious, before sexually assaulting her and running off.
DNA evidence was collected at the time and entered into CODIS, but no matches were made.
READ: Undercover detective poses as teen, man caught trying to pay child for sex: St. Pete Police
In April, though, police said they received a notification about a match with the DNA evidence from the 2017 case, which was identified as Person’s DNA.
"This is a little bit different, because a lot of times, we find it where we enter a case, and we then get a DNA hit on the case where it was recently added to the system," Kovacsev said. "This one was a profile created in 2017, shortly after the rape occurred, and it just sat there until a DNA hit was able to be obtained."
Kovacsev said Person’s DNA sample was collected when he was arrested on the separate drug charge because of recent changes to Florida law. The state now requires suspects arrested for or convicted of a felony and certain misdemeanors to provide a DNA sample.
"Had the individual not had that drug arrest or had it not been mandated to provide that, this case would remain unsolved until such time something would have happened, or maybe never," Kovacsev said.
Person is charged with false imprisonment, aggravated battery and sexual battery. According to the FDLE, as of March 2024, there are more than 1.7 million profiles in CODIS, and there have been more than 77,000 hits.
WATCH FOX 13 NEWS:
SIGN UP: Click here to sign up for the FOX 13 daily newsletter
