DNA evidence has helped police apprehend the possible suspect in a 1995 sexual assault of a 12-year-old girl in Ocean Beach.
The San Diego Police Department announced the arrest of 36-year-old James de Santo, a self-employed construction worker living in Ocean County, New Jersey, said Lt. Carolyn Kendrick, of the SDPD’s sex crimes unit.
Police took de Santo into custody at his home Wednesday, June 27, after the issuance of a warrant from the San Diego District Attorney’s Office, Kendrick said.
A DNA match from the Combined DNA Index System, or CODIS, appears to have connected de Santo to the rape of the Ocean Beach girl 12 years ago, Kendrick said.
“De Santo was identified,” Kendrick said. “[Authorities] will bring him back for trial here in San Diego County.”
On June 21, 1995, de Santo allegedly entered the victim’s residence through an unlocked door. He blindfolded and sexually assaulted her, Kendrick said.
At the time of the crime, the CODIS didn’t exist, according to Kendrick. Authorities added de Santo’s profile to the database after 2000 as DNA samples from open cases dating back to Jan. 1, 1995, were added to the system, she said.
According to James Churchill, an executive assistant to the Ocean County prosecutor’s office, the Ocean County probation office obtained a sample of de Santo’s DNA in October 2006 and entered it into the CODIS.
After a verification process, the match led to the warrant for his arrest.
The CODIS database allows federal, state and local crime labs to compare DNA profiles electronically nationwide, according to the CODIS Web site.
“It’s a very valuable tool,” Kendrick said. “It really assists with law enforcement across the nation.”
De Santo is currently being held in Ocean County jail on $2 million bail.
Churchill said de Santo now has limited options to fight extradition from New Jersey to San Diego County.
De Santo is being charged with three counts of sexual assault. If convicted, de Santo could be sentenced up to life in prison, Kendrick said.