Renton Police Department detectives have linked the rape of a 12-year-old girl in December 2023 to a 14-year-old unsolved sexual assault case in Seattle.
According to the department, DNA collected from the rape of the 12-year-old matched unidentified DNA from a 2009 Seattle home invasion robbery with a sexual motivation.
According to Meeghan Black, a spokesperson for the Renton Police Department, the rape of the 12-year-old girl occurred near downtown Renton in the morning in December 2023.
The department declined to specify the area where the rape occurred.
“We are doing everything we can to protect the 12-year-old victim,” Black stated in an email.
According to Black, the 12-year-old never talked with the suspect or saw his face.
“Other suspects were present during the Seattle crime,” Black stated. “He was alone at the Renton rape.”
The Renton rape case arrives 14 years after a home invasion robbery in Seattle where the suspect sexually assaulted a woman.
According to the department, the suspect threatened the victim in the Seattle case with rape and groped her multiple times during the robbery.
Having talked with and seen the suspect, the victim in the Seattle case helped an artist create a suspect sketch and provided police with a suspect description.
According to the department, the victim described the suspect as a Hispanic man with dark hair standing 5 feet 8 inches to 5 feet 10 inches tall, with a medium build and facial hair or stubble. The victim reported a distinguishable scar to the side of the man’s mouth and believed he was about 30 years old.
With a 14-year gap between the crimes, police expect the man’s appearance to have changed.
“His hairstyle has probably changed,” the department stated. “He may have wrinkles or glasses.”
The suspect spoke both Spanish and English, according to the department. Additionally, both the woman in the Seattle case and 12-year-old girl identify as Hispanic.
“There are many similarities between the Renton and Seattle cases,” the department stated. “Detectives are confident he didn’t just stop committing crimes for 15 years, and there could be other victims who have not come forward.”
Renton police have requested public assistance in identifying the man in the sketch and in providing information to support the investigation. The public can contact Detective Billingsley at lbillingsley@rentonwa.gov.
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