Calgary police have now charged a man in connection with the sexual assault of a teenage girl that took place over 20 years ago.
On March 23, 1995, police say a 16-year-old girl was walking home following a school function in the evening when a man approached her.
The man told her that he had a gun and forced her into an alley in the 6800 block of Huntridge Hill N.E. where he sexually assaulted her.
Immediately following the incident, police were unable to find a suspect.
In 2001, investigators reviewed DNA evidence after the National DNA Data Bank was created, but no matched were found at the time.
Once police re-submitted samples in November of last year, a match was found.
Nine months later, police arrested a man in Lethbridge on Saturday, August 15.
Charles Henry Desjarlais, 52, is charged with one count of sexual assault with a weapon.
He remains in custody and will appear in court on August 26.
Staff Sergeant Bev Voros with the CPS Sex Crimes Unit says that while the arrest brings relief to the victim, it is still troubling that the incident took place at all.
She adds that with advances in DNA investigative techniques, a lot more hits are made from different type of samples. "The DNA was submitted in 2001, a new assault happened in 2002 so DNA was submitted at that time and then in 2014, we resubmitted the samples. We actually have a full time constable who is working on these cases to make sure evidence is submitted.
"20 years ago, they though hair and fiber was the right thing to do- they submitted all hair and fiber. Now we know that DNA through blood, sperm, we get a lot more hits from that."
The CPS says they always continue with criminal investigations until they are solved and encourage anyone to come forward with evidence of a crime, no matter how long ago it took place.
"This case is a great example that we do not consider investigations to be closed until they are resolved," said Voros. "The Cold Case Unit reviews cases constantly to see if new technologies can provide information to help move cases forward and there is no time limit on when we can lay charges after an offence."
Information can be passed on to police by calling 403-266-1234 or by contacting Crime Stoppers anonymously using any of the following methods:
TALK: 1-800-222-8477
TYPE: www.calgarycrimestoppers.org
TEXT: tttTIPS to 274637
