Two Richmond Hill rape attack cases dating as far back as 1996 were finally resolved, thanks to DNA evidence under Queens District Attorney Richard Brown’s special prosecution unit, he said.
Johnny Dupree, 55, was first put behind bars for a 16-year sentence received in 2000 when he pleaded guilty to second-degree burglary, Brown said. But a recent forensic evidence search also found his DNA had linked him to two other attacks on women more than 16 years ago, the DA said.
“My office’s DNA Prosecutions Unit has been systematically reviewing every unsolved sexual assault in Queens County dating back to 1996 – which is as far as the statute of limitations permits,” Brown said.
The first incident occurred around 4 a.m. on July 11, 1997, Brown said. Then, Dupree allegedly entered a basement apartment on 129th Street where his 23-year-old victim was asleep with her three children, the DA said. She woke up to find the man crouching in her bedroom before he allegedly put a knife to her throat and demanded cash, the DA said.
Dupree took $20 from the woman before sodomizing and raping her, according to Brown.
A second similar incident occurred months later, around 1 a.m. on Nov. 9, 1997, the DA said. Dupree was accused of breaking into an apartment on 130th Street, where he allegedly threatened his 24-year-old female victim with a knife before raping her.
Brown said his DNA Prosecution Unit used rape kit evidence from both crimes and clothing that had been already tested, but reviewed it again with more sensitive tests linking Dupree to the crimes.
“In this case, DNA evidence was collected from the rape victims and crime scenes at the time of the incident and stored in a database,” Brown said. “DNA from those two rape cases was positively matched to a DNA sample provided by the man – identified as Johnny Dupree – to the state data bank known as CODIS after he pleaded guilty to second degree burglary in 2000.”
Dupree was arraigned on Friday and charged with two counts of first-degree rape and two counts of first-degree sodomy. He faces up to 25 years in prison if convicted, Brown said.
Brown said rape kits from throughout the city were tested more than 10 years ago, but many ended up not yielding DNA profiles. He launched the cold case initiative two years ago with help from federal grant money so his office could retest rape kit samples using more sensitive modern techniques, he said.
Dupree’s case was one of 13 indictments covering 17 different criminal indictments, Brown said.
“This case underscores the crucial importance of DNA evidence, which is irrefutable proof of guilt or innocence,” Brown said.
By Phil Corso
