Nameless DNA profile charged in 1999 rape

Prosecutors usually have a suspect's name before someone is charged with a crime.

But for the first time in Thurston County, prosecutors have charged a genetic profile — an unknown person's DNA — with an unsolved rape of a woman in downtown Olympia in 1999.

The rape occurred while the woman was walking home alone after an argument with a boyfriend at a west Olympia bar early June 20, 1999. She was downtown on Fourth Avenue when she was approached by a man who accosted her, then dragged her behind a building and raped her, court papers state.

In September 2007, advances in DNA technology helped a forensic scientist at the State Police Crime Lab identify a DNA profile from semen that was left on the woman's skirt during the attack, Olympia Police Det. Russ Geis said.

Deputy Prosecuting Attorney John Skinder said Monday that a DNA profile is a better identifier for an individual than a name, or even a fingerprint.

"(T)he probability of randomly selecting an unrelated individual with a DNA profile matching the profile set out above is approximately 1 in 4,950,000,000,000,000 (1 in 4.9 quadrillion)," read court records charging a "John Doe's" genetic profile with the crime.

Prosecutors have charged the person who matches the DNA profile with a single count of first-degree rape.

Skinder credited Geis and the Olympia Police Department with pursuing the investigation of the rape.

"It was brutal, and it's always bothered us," Geis said Monday. "She deserves justice."

The charges were filed before the 10-year statute of limitations on first-degree rape expires, keeping hope alive that the rapist can be convicted of the crime and jailed, Skinder said.

"To preserve the case, we had to take action within the statute of limitations," Skinder said.

A suspect may be arrested if a person whose DNA profile matches the "John Doe" charged in Thurston County is entered into a nationwide database of DNA profiles — the CODIS database.

When Olympia officers were dispatched to the rape in 1999, they discovered the victim in the 1600 block of Fourth Avenue "bleeding from her head and crying hysterically."

"Officer Smith noted that her clothing was disheveled, her nylons were torn, and she had no shoes on."

The woman explained that as she was walking through downtown Olympia around 1:30 a.m., a man walked up beside her and tried to start a conversation. She described the man as white, between five-feet, six-inches and five-feet, eight-inches tall, with a thin moustache, a partial goatee and a thin face. The victim said he was wearing a light jacket and had very bad, "ugly" teeth.

The man asked her if he could walk her home, and she told him to leave her alone. The man told her he was from Tacoma and he was 32 years old. "After walking a couple of blocks, this male placed his arm around (her) shoulders without her invitation," court papers state. The woman attempted to get away by walking to the other side of the street, but he followed her, "grabbed hold of her left arm and physically pulled her behind a small building," according to court papers.

The woman tried to break free, but he started punching her, "and began demanding that she shut up and do what he said or he would hit her some more."

"Once behind the building, the suspect knocked (the woman) to the ground, grabbed her head and began slamming it on the ground," court papers state. The woman "later reported that she was very frightened at this point, stopped resisting the physical assault and tried to think of a way to stop what was happening."

During the rape, the woman was able to knock her attacker off, and she ran out from behind the building and into the street. She was screaming for help as she ran into the street, and two men ran to her aid. The rapist was seen by one of the witnesses buttoning up his pants and fleeing on foot.

Court records credit advances at the State Patrol crime lab over the years in additional resources and in their ability to reduce a backlog of unanalyzed DNA in helping to get a DNA profile from the semen on the victim's skirt.

There is nothing in Washington's statutes that prevents prosecutors from charging a DNA profile, court papers state. State law says that an arrest warrant "shall specify the name of the defendant, or if the defendant is unknown, any name or description by which the defendant can be identified with reasonable certainty," court papers state.

Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Jim Powers said that across the country, prosecutors have been obtaining "John Doe" warrants since the '90s. But this is the first time he can remember such a case being prosecuted in Thurston County.

Added Skinder, "I think we're going to see them more and more. DNA is such powerful evidence."

Jeremy Pawloski covers public safety for The Olympian. He can be reached at 360-754-5465 or jpawloski@theolympian.com.