LOWER TOWNSHIP – Polices ay DNA samples have led them to a Nevada State Prison and a suspect for a sexual assault that took place at the Higbee Beach Wildlife Management Area in the summer of 2000.
Local officers flew to Nevada to extradite the suspect, who is now in the Cape May County jail, according to police.
Dylan Thomas Ravel, 33, formerly of Cape May County, was serving time for robbery and kidnapping, according to police. Lower Township Det. Ed Dougherty and Det. Edward Musick from the county prosecutor’s office flew to Nevada to bring him back.
The case was reopened because of DNA samples recovered after the rape, which took place July 3, 2000. According to Police Chief Edward Donohue, the charges came after additional investigation by Det. Joseph Boyle. Police say they were looking at Ravel for a second rape that took place in October of that year in a remote area off New England Road in the wildlife management area, but was released when the victim would not testify against him, according to a release sent out this week.
Forensic information, including DNA, was taken after the July assault and sent to a state database, which has genetic samples from 180,000 offenders, police say. It was also sent to a national database.
In 2004, Ravel and his wife were arrested in Nevada and pleaded guilty in connection to the robbery of an elderly man, police said.
While he was serving time, a DNA sample was taken. Boyle and the Lower Township department were notified in 2006 of a possible DNA match. It was Boyle who filed the previous charges against Ravel in 2008.
On March 6, Ravel was charged with second degree sexual assault, and was delivered to county jail at about 2 a.m.
Lower Township has used DNA to make arrests in previous burglary cases, Donohue said. He credited the state and national DNA databases as an effective tool in cold case investigation.