Three unsolved Raleigh sexual assault cases linked to one man after kits tested: Police

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- Raleigh police said they have charged one man with three sexual assault cold cases after testing rape kits.

Tracy Lamont Thompson, 51, was taken into custody Wednesday, March 20 and charged in connection with sexual assaults that occurred in 1998, 2007 and 2009.

According to police, evidence in these cases was included as part of the Sexual Assault Kit Initiative (SAKI) initiated by the North Carolina State Crime Lab in 2019.

Thompson's was connected after his DNA came back a positive match from the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) which is a national database that is made up of DNA profiles from convicted offenders, unsolved crime scene evidence, and missing persons.

Thompson has been charged with 5 felonies in the investigation:

• First-Degree Kidnapping

• Second-Degree Rape

• Second-Degree Sexual Offense

• Attempted Second-Degree Rape

• Assault by Strangulation

In January this year, Durham secured a federal grant to test rape evidence kits. The Durham County District Attorney's Office announced it had received a federal grant worth $1.15 million to continue the prosecution of cases charged as the result of sexual assault evidence kits. Many of these kits sat completed but not tested for years. After getting money to process and test the kits, investigators say several arrests have been made.

SEE ALSO | Man charged in Raleigh sexual assault cold case dating back to 1998