NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) – A man responsible for a series of rapes in New Orleans in the 90s now faces life in prison, thanks to DNA technology that was not previously available.
After a multi-day trial, the Office of District Attorney Jason Williams secured a conviction of 44-year-old Jamol Rickmon for three aggravated rapes, dating back to 1996.
“Years later, after he pled guilty to aggravated burglaries, not sexual assaults but aggravated burglaries, the defendant’s DNA was collected as part of prison protocol, and we’re able to link that DNA hit to these rapes that occurred 30 years ago,” Orleans Parish District Attorney Jason Williams said.
Williams called the conviction case a great example of the power of technology and science to support the work of his office and of the New Orleans Police Department.
“Additionally, the success of this case and the hard work of the team behind me, and it was a big team, is why my office is applying for grant funds from the Bureau of Justice Assistance to continue pursuing these sorts of cases,” Williams said.
Meanwhile, New Orleans City Council Vice President Helena Moreno is working with the Louisiana State Police Crime Lab, which assisted in Rickmon’s case, to bring rapid DNA testing to the Orleans Parish Justice Center.
“[In] 90 minutes, you will know if an offender is linked to any other unsolved crimes, and not just in New Orleans, not just in the state of Louisiana, but in CODIS (Combined DNA Index System), which means throughout the country,” Moreno explained.
With this rapid DNA technology, Williams hopes for more convictions and the ability to hone in on repeat offenders.
“The people committing the worst crimes on our city streets are repeat offenders, sometimes who have never been arrested or caught,” Williams said. “So, when they are arrested, we want to make sure we can use that DNA to go after them and keep them in jail.”
Moreno says the Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office will have the rapid DNA technology at the jail sometime this year.