**UPDATE: Charles Henry Desjarlais was sentenced to 10 years in prison on the charge of sexual assault with a weapon and prohibited from possessing a firearm in March 2019**
DNA evidence has led police to a suspect in a sexual assault that happened in the city’s southwest almost 20 years ago.
On August 14, 1997, a woman was walking along 8 Street S.W., between 10th and 11th Avenues, when she was approached by a man.
The man pulled the woman into an alley where she was then threatened and sexually assaulted.
He then made her walk through alleys for a few blocks before he fled the area.
The crime went unsolved until last November when a man, who was already in police custody on another matter, turned himself in to RCMP for a sexual assault that happened in the 1990s.
Calgary police followed up on the information and reviewed a number of unsolved cases to see if they could make a match. DNA evidence was linked to the 1997 incident and charges were laid.
“We have three people dedicated to reviewing multiple cold case files. Through investigations, if we do find linkages then we, sort of, act on those investigative processes to see if there are any other linkages with any other files,” said Staff Sergeant Bruce Walker, from the Calgary Police Service Sex Crimes Unit.
Charles Henry Desjarlais, 54, of Bowden, is charged with sexual assault, sexual assault with a weapon, uttering threats and kidnapping.
“With this particular case, this person has come forward, has cooperated with the investigation and again, there’s no public safety concern as he was in custody at the time,’ said Walker.
Walker says the investigator has spoken with the victim and says she is doing as well as can be expected.
Desjarlais remains in police custody.
