A man has been convicted of a violent rape committed 14 years ago after police found his DNA on a cigarette.
Lerio Guerrero, 34, pleaded guilty to the rape and robbery of a 28-year-old college professor in the Lower East Village, Manhattan in 1998 after police linked him to the crime over a decade later.
The cigarette was found whilst police investigated the scene of another sexual assault in 2011 where they encountered Mr Guerrero.
After arresting him for trespassing and possession of a knife, they took DNA from the cigarette – and discovered a match with the 1998 case.
According to reports, Mr Guerrero had nothing to do with the 2011 case and was merely trying to get a closer look at the crime scene.
In November 1998, Leiro Guerrero, of Staten Island, attacked the college professor as she entered her New York apartment building.
After pushing in through the door, he raped her before robbing her.
When he found the contents of her wallet unsatisfying, Mr Guerrero held a piece of broken glass against her neck and forced her to take him to an ATM, where she emptied her account.
She managed to retrieve $800 but, still unhappy, Mr Guerrero dragged her to a second cash machine. She was able to break free and seek help.
Police say DNA was recovered from blood found on the victim's jacket, left there when her assailant cut himself on the shard of glass he was using as a weapon. At the time, no-one was convicted of the attack and the case went cold.
To read more about this story CLICK HERE.
TXT 24
Twitter
Facebook