DNA match leads to arrest for 2013 sexual assault case in Kent

KENT, Wash. — The Kent Police Department (KPD) says they have arrested a person in connection to a 2013 sexual assault of a six-year-old child that occurred at a business in Kent.

The assault occurred on May 19, 2013.

According to police, a suspect entered the retail store, approached the child, and sexually assaulted the child while the mother was at the register.

KPD says on August 6, 2024, investigators got a break in the case when DNA collected at the scene came back with a match to a 31-year-old Texas resident, whose previous address was linked to Joint Base Lewis-McChord (JBLM).

Investigators determined that the suspect had been previously stationed at JBLM in 2013 and also had a recent conviction for a crime against a child in Texas.

It was that conviction that required his DNA to be collected and entered into the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) that Kent Police used.

Kent Police working with the King County Prosecutor’s Office were able to have the Brazoria County Sheriff’s Office in Texas arrest the suspect.

The suspect is currently waiting to be extradited to Washington to face charges.

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