DNA Evidence Links Guthrie Man To Decade-Old Sexual Assault

GUTHRIE, Oklahoma -

A Guthrie man was arrested this week after DNA evidence linked him to a 16-year-old sexual assault that was nearly past the statute of limitations.

Agents with the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation (OSBI) arrested 35-year-old David Jerome Stephens II on Wednesday, after a DNA analyst alerted the bureau of a positive hit in the Combined DNA Index System.

The alleged crime occurred on Christmas Day in 1997. The victim, an 85-year-old woman, was beaten with a pipe, robbed and sexually assaulted. The victim passed away in 2008.

The positive hit in the DNA index system happened just days before the statute of limitations for the crime would have run out. Luckily, the OSBI agent was able to file a John Doe warrant based on the new DNA evidence, which allowed the case to remain legally active.

Stephens was arrested Wednesday evening at his home in the 11700 block of Red Cedar Rd. in Guthrie. DNA from Stephens was collected after a conviction in 2013 for Possession of a Controlled Dangerous Substance within 1,000 feet of a School/Park/Child.

Stephens was booked into the Logan County Jail. Details on a possible bond were not available. According to the OSBI, Stephens has a lengthy arrest record beginning in 1997, the same year as the alleged sexual assault. He would have been 20 years old at that time.

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DNA Evidence Links Guthrie Man To Decade-Old Sexual Assault