DNA Genealogy Helps Solve 30-Year-Old Brooklyn Rape Case as Bronx Man Faces Charges

A 30-year-old Brooklyn rape case has been reopened and solved after investigators used advances in DNA technology and genetic genealogy to identify a man authorities say was responsible for the 1995 attack.

William Stephens, 54, of the Bronx, was arrested and charged in connection with the August 2, 1995, rape of a 36-year-old woman in Brooklyn’s Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood. He was arraigned on charges including first-degree rape, first-degree sexual abuse, robbery and assault. He pleaded not guilty.

According to prosecutors, the woman had entered her mother’s apartment building on the evening of August 2 when an unknown man allegedly approached her from behind and pressed a firearm against her side. He allegedly forced her up the stairs to the sixth floor and onto the building’s rooftop.

Prosecutors allege that the man then ordered the woman to undress and lie down before sexually assaulting her while holding the firearm. Afterward, he allegedly took several pieces of her jewelry and fled.

The victim immediately reported the attack and was taken to Brooklyn Hospital, where a rape kit was collected. Investigators were able to develop a male DNA profile from the evidence, but the profile did not initially match anyone in the national DNA database.

The case remained unsolved for years. In June 2005, Brooklyn prosecutors took an unusual legal step by obtaining an indictment against an unidentified “John Doe,” using the DNA profile of the alleged attacker. The move was intended to preserve the case before New York’s statute of limitations expired.

More than two decades later, investigators revisited the DNA evidence using advances in familial DNA analysis and genetic genealogy. Those efforts produced leads pointing investigators toward Stephens as a potential suspect.

Authorities then had an opportunity to obtain a DNA sample from Stephens after he became subject to an outstanding bench warrant related to his failure to appear in court on an unrelated open-container violation. While he was in custody, investigators obtained what authorities described as an “abandonment sample.” Testing showed that Stephens’ DNA matched the genetic profile recovered from the 1995 rape kit.

Investigators also learned that Stephens’ mother and other relatives lived in the apartment building where the assault occurred at the time of the attack, according to the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office.

Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said advances in forensic technology, combined with the persistence of investigators, allowed authorities to pursue the case decades after the original assault.

Stephens was ordered held on $250,000 bail and is scheduled to return to court on October 30, 2026. If convicted of the top charge, he could face a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison.

The arrest marks a major development in a case that remained unresolved for more than three decades. For the victim, prosecutors said, the investigation’s renewed progress comes after years of uncertainty.

Stephens has pleaded not guilty. The charges are allegations, and an indictment is not proof of guilt; he is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.

Source: NY Post