FL - Ruben Chavez, 55, rape kit never tested Jan 1996 *Arrest in 2019*

[imstilla.grandma]

More than two decades after a 17-year-old girl woke up in a Florida hotel room with her underwear and a used condom resting on the bed next to her, law enforcement officials finally have arrested a suspect in the 1996 cold-case rape.

Ruben Chavez, 55, was taken into custody in Boca Raton on Monday and charged with one count of sexual battery on a helpless victim.

Cold-case arrest: Ruben Chavez, 55, was arrested in Florida Monday on a charge of sexual battery on a helpless victim in connection to a 1996 rape of a teen

The break in the unsolved 23-year-old case came earlier this year, when investigators reviewing old files discovered the victim's rape kit, which had never been tested.

When they submitted the DNA evidence for testing, it matched Chavez's DNA profile.

According to an old police report, on the night of January 7, 1996, the victim, identified only by her initials, M.G., went out with a friend and two of her associates, whom she knew as ‘Nick’ and ‘Booda,’ reported Miami Herald.

Man, 55, arrested 'for sexually assaulting teen' after police test 23-year-old rape kit | Daily Mail Online

 

[imstilla.grandma]

Three years ago, CBS12 News discovered thousands of untested rape kits had been sitting on shelves, some for 20 years.

Back then, it was up to individual law enforcement agencies to decide whether to test a rape kit or not.

The reasons varied, such as if a suspect confessed.

That all changed in 2016, when then-Florida governor Rick Scott signed into law a measure requiring all rape kits to be tested by law enforcement within 120 days.

Nicole Bishop, Director of Palm Beach County Victim Services, helps administer local rape kits.

“For some of those not knowing, could be a very painful experience," Bishop said.

The state had more than 13,000 untested rape kits before the new law.

“Victims would have a rape kit done and they wouldn’t know whether or not their kit was going to be tested or not," Bishop said.

“Every other day, it seems as though we’re hearing about another arrest as a result of testing these backlog kits," she said. "I look forward to that continuing and more arrests being made in the future.”

In some states, investigators are already finding potential serial rapists in unsolved crimes, thanks to DNA evidence entered into a national database.
Police arrest man in Boca Raton linked to 1996 cold case sexual battery investigation

 

[sleuther0192837465]

If I had the brains, I’d VOLUNTEER to test these kits....there is NO excuse for ANY of this!!
SO glad another is off the streets!

 

[jjsage]

i want to know more about ruben chavez has he ever lived in washington?