A MAN on Friday been jailed for eight years for an historical rape in 1990.
The jury returned a guilty verdict on Keith Davison, 52, of Binstead Hill, Ryde, after a week-long trial at Portsmouth Crown Court in January.
On August 4, 1990, a 24-year-old woman had been working at a fast food outlet in Ryde.
She finished work around midnight and started to walk home along the town’s seafront on her own.
The woman became aware of a man she thought was following her.
This man approached her from behind and placed his T-shirt over her head. He threatened to hurt the woman if she did not comply. The man pulled her down a grass bank on Ryde seafront and raped her.
Advancements in technology and science enabled samples from material found at the original crime scene to be used to produce DNA profiles.
In 2004, Hampshire Constabulary’s Major Crime Department began a new inquiry as part of Operation Alveston, a series of investigations into a number of 'cold case’ rapes.
Familial DNA searching was a technique used in this case by the Forensic Science Service (FSS). It is based on the fact individuals who are related are more likely to have similar DNA profiles.
The trial heard how DNA obtained from Keith Davison’s daughter, when she was arrested for an unrelated crime, produced a possible link to DNA taken from the scene of the rape in 1990.
A voluntary DNA mouth swab sample was later obtained from Keith Davison in 2008. This sample matched the DNA profile of material taken from the crime scene in 1990.
The chance of obtaining a match from a person taken at random from the general population is in the order of one in one billion.
Speaking after the verdict in January, the rape survivor said: "I’m relieved there was a guilty verdict, but saddened that this case has affected other innocent people.
"I would like to thank family, friends and the police for their continued support. I’m very happy with how this new investigation has been handled since 2004. I hope my experience can encourage more victims to have the confidence to report rape offences. If the police had not collected and stored the DNA, we would not be here today with a conviction."
A new dedicated rape investigation team has been set up to review more unsolved rape and serious sexual offences across Hampshire and Isle of Wight.
Full interview with the victim in Friday, March 26, County Press