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Police Find Lead In 13-Year-Old Rape Case Thanks To Discarded Cigarette Butt
By
Christopher Robbins
Published Jun 11, 2011
Modified Jun 11, 2011
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By
Christopher Robbins
Published Jun 11, 2011
Modified Jun 11, 2011
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Thirteen years after the incident, a Staten Island man was charged with rape after police seized on his discarded cigarette butt and matched his DNA with that found at the crime scene. The Daily News reports that 32-year-old Lerio Guerrero allegedly attacked his victim, then 28, outside her Lower East Side apartment in November of 1998, "threatened her with a piece of broken glass, raped and sodomized her, then took her wallet." She escaped as Guerrero dragged her to another ATM so she could withdraw more money to give him.
Guerrero had cut himself on the glass he was using to threaten his victim and his blood fell on the victim's coat. The Wall Street Journal reports that the police "obtained a 'John Doe' indictment in 2005, before the statute of limitations would have expired," so that the case could be tried whenever the matching DNA was found. In May, Guerrero was found trespassing at the scene of another sexual assault and discarded his cigarette butt. Police picked it up and found a match to the blood on the victim's coat. Guerrero has two other misdemeanors and a felony DUI. He pleaded not guilty to sexual assault and is being held without bail.
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cigarette butt
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rape
staten island
Christopher Robbins
Christopher Robbins is a New York City reporter covering transportation, affordable housing, local politics, and criminal justice. His work has also appeared in New York Magazine, The Village Voice and The New York Times. Chris is a graduate of Patrick Henry High School in Roanoke, Virginia, and enjoys biking to Fort Tilden in the summertime.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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