Columbus Rape Case Dismissed: Judge Cites Decades of Police Inaction
COLUMBUS, OH – A 1994 rape case in Columbus has been dismissed after a Franklin County judge found that police failed to adequately investigate the crime for nearly three decades, violating the legal standard of “reasonable diligence.” The suspect, identified in June 2024 through genetic genealogy after an initial “John Doe” indictment in 2013, will not be prosecuted.
Judge david Brown ruled that while the initial indictment was filed within the statute of limitations, the “minimal efforts” made by Columbus police detectives between 1994 and 2024 were insufficient. The decision, detailed in court documents, effectively ends the prosecution of the suspect, identified through DNA matching to evidence collected at the scene of the July 1994 assault.
“Though, the laws of Ohio and our separate Constitutions do not permit a ‘crockpot’ approach to criminal investigations: the government cannot ‘set it and forget it,'” Brown wrote in his decision.
The case hinged on a DNA sample collected from a pillowcase following the assault reported by a 20-year-old woman. Court records indicate detectives also possessed facts regarding a potential suspect living in the area at the time, but no further investigative steps were taken.
Brown specifically noted that a simple neighborhood canvas “would have possibly closed the examination in weeks not decades,” and that a DNA sample could have been obtained and matched in 1994, rather than 2024.
Attorneys for the suspect had argued the prosecution was barred by the statute of limitations. brown agreed that while the initial indictment was timely, the prolonged lack of investigation undermined the case. He also highlighted the loss of three key witnesses who investigated the case in 1994.
The Franklin County prosecutor’s office has the option to appeal Brown’s decision to the Tenth District Court of appeals.
Reporter Bethany bruner can be reached at bbruner@gannett.com or on Bluesky at @bethanybruner.dispatch.com.
