HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. — The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office arrested a man in connection to a sexual battery case from more than two decades ago.
Walter Leon Rutherford Jr., 59, was taken into custody at the Orient Road Jail on Monday where he faces two counts of sexual battery.
The case dates back to March 2000, when deputies responded to a call about a girl who had been sexually assaulted after accepting a ride from a man near Browder Road and Henderson Road.
At the time, authorities were able to collect DNA evidence during their investigation, but all leads were reportedly exhausted and the case went cold.
The investigation was reopened in 2022. The sheriff's office, alongside officials from the Department of Law Enforcement and Parabon Nanolabs, worked together to use an "advanced forensic genealogy." This helped detectives develop a family tree related to the then-unknown suspect.
Rutherford Jr. was identified in August of this year. HCSO said that while he had connections to Tampa in 2000, he had been living in Missouri since 2007.
Detectives were able to secure a DNA sample from Rutherford Jr. under a court-issued warrant with the help of law enforcement officials in Missouri.
Then in October, Rutherford's DNA was confirmed to be a match with the sample collected from the crime scene, leading to his arrest this week.
"This case is a powerful reminder that time does not diminish our commitment to justice," Sheriff Chad Chronister said in a statement. "Our Special Victims Section, with the help of modern technology, has brought closure to a victim who has waited for more than 20 years for answers. We hope this brings comfort and peace to the victim as she continues to heal."