DNA links Travis County Jail inmate to sexual assault

Austin police were able to use DNA evidence to charge a Travis County Jail inmate with aggravated sexual assault of a child in an incident that occurred last July. The 21-year-old inmate was already incarcerated on unrelated charges when police learned that his DNA was a match for evidence that was collected from a sexual assault case involving a 13-year-old runaway.

The girl fled from a North Austin residential treatment center and encountered two men at the North Lamar Transit Center. She accompanied the two onto the bus and went with them to a party. She was given lemonade with alcohol in it that made her throw up and have a black out. She remembered nothing else until she woke up in a front yard the next morning and walked to a business to call 911.

The inmate admitted meeting the girl and going with her and a friend to a party on Day Camp Lane, according to an affidavit. Upon learning that his DNA was found in the young girl’s rape kit, he denied remembering having sex with her, claiming to have been high on cocaine and meth at the party.

The girl had previously been sexually assaulted after another runaway attempt. Three men in a car took her to an apartment and had sex with her while they recorded the attack on their cellphones. The gang rape brought about charges of aggravated sexual assault of a child for two men and warrants issued for three still at large.

While successful prosecution of the men for the sexual assault charges is certainly a goal, one does not have to win a conviction for her attacker in criminal court to successfully bring about civil litigation that can result in a settlement or judgment in the plaintiff’s favor. A Dallas personal injury attorney can evaluate the case and file suit for damages.

Source: Austin American-Statesman, “DNA leads to sexual assault charge in case with 13-year-old victim” Ciara O’Rourke, May. 07, 2014