Man, 57, arrested in 1994 cold-case rape of deaf, visually impaired 15-year-old girl

A 57-year-old man from Helmond has been arrested in connection with a 1994 rape case, AD reports. He came into law enforcement’s attention after a cold-case team ordered a new examination of old evidence in the case of the rape of a 15-year-old deaf and visually impaired girl in the municipality of Sint-Michielsgestel.

On May 30, 1994, the girl was waiting at a riding school to be taken back to the local institute for the deaf. According to the allegation, the suspect pulled the girl into his car and raped her. He then dropped her off near her home.

At the time, the girl’s clothing was seized and preserved by the detective for forensic examination at the time. The man’s DNA has now produced a match in the national database. Back then, “DNA testing was still in its infancy and had not yet become standard practice,” police said in a statement.

Because the evidence had been retained, the cold-case team was able to have the so-called trace carriers re-examined. “This analysis produced a match with the suspect. His DNA was already in the national database in connection with another criminal offense.”