Rape kit testing results in new serial rape charges, including 3 men linked to ... - cleveland.com
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Rape kit testing continues to lead to charges against suspected serial rapists – including several linked to more recent sexual assaults. Prosecutors say Crawford is among at least 226 serial rapists identified since more than 4,700 rape kits from Cleveland and the Cuyahoga County suburbs. The most recent rape Crawford faces charges in was reported last spring when two women, ages 17 and 20, told police they were forced at gunpoint into a beige Chevrolet Malibu on St. Clair Avenue. Also charged in that 2014 case is Yvon Norton Jr. Investigators say he wielded the gun and raped a 17-year-old in the car's front seat, while Crawford raped the 20-year-old in the back seat of the car. Rape kits were collected from both victims and were submitted to the Cuyahoga County Regional Forensic Laboratory for testing in February 2015. DNA from the kits linked the assaults to Crawford and Norton, according to prosecutors with the... That rape was reported a month after the rape he currently is accused of committing. A jury convicted Norton in that case after a 26-year-old woman testified she was forced at gunpoint into a "gold or tan" Chevrolet Malibu and sexually assaulted. Source: www.cleveland.com
