Police: DNA solves Raleigh rape after 14 years
RALEIGH (WTVD) -- Investigators say a North Carolina law that mandates a DNA test for anyone convicted of a felony has helped them solve the rape of a woman in Raleigh 14 years ago. Now, they hope to catch a second suspect.
Back in October 2000, a Raleigh woman was walking home from work around midnight on Ray Road when she was dragged into a wooded area by two men, raped, and sexually assaulted at knifepoint.
The case went unsolved for years. But when 40-year-old Maurice Barry-Albert Sullivan was convicted on a felony shoplifting charge this past April, his DNA was automatically entered into a state database. It came back as a match in the 2000 rape case.
The Raleigh Police Department said while it's grateful for the arrest, the victim was attacked by two men and that means another suspect remains on the loose.
"This case is not a done deal because there was another assailant alleged," explained Wake County prosecutor Melanie Shekita. "You don't want to wait 14 years to give a victim some sort of peace about a stranger attack."
Sullivan has been arrested more than 20 times since 2007, but it wasn't until Knightdale police arrested him on a shoplifting charge that involved the removal of an anti-theft device that he was charged with a felony and later convicted.
The testing of convicted felons law was put into effect in 1994 and expanded in 2010 to include anyone charged with serious crimes such as murder or rape.
"It's a wonderful tool. I know that there are critics of it, but I think in this case it really shows how using the database is helpful," said Shekita.
Sullivan is now charged with first-degree rape and first-degree forcible sexual offense.
