Man, 55, arrested ‘for sexually assaulting teen’ after police test 23-year-old rape kit

Florida man, 55, is farrested ‘for drugging and sexually assaulting a 17-year-old girl’ after police finally test victim’s 23-year-old rape kit

  • Ruben Chavez charged with sexual battery on a helpless victim in connection to January 1996 rape of a 17-year-old girl 
  • Victim told police she was given a ‘roofie’ and alcohol while out with a friend and two male associates, ‘Nick’ and ‘Booda’
  • Girl woke up the next morning in a hotel bed without her underwear next to a used condom and called police 
  • Detectives identified ‘Nick’ as Chavez, and interviewed him and the other man, but they were never arrested  
  • A rape kit was done but reportedly was never tested, until it was discovered in April 2019 during a cold-case review 
  • When DNA evidence was submitted for testing, it matched Chavez’s DNA  

Cold-case arrest: Ruben Chavez, 55, was arrested in Florida Monday on a charge of sexual battery on a helpless victim in connection to a 1996 rape of a teen 

More than two decades after a 17-year-old girl woke up in a Florida hotel room with her underwear and a used condom resting on the bed next to her, law enforcement officials finally have arrested a suspect in the 1996 cold-case rape.

Ruben Chavez, 55, was taken into custody in Boca Raton on Monday and charged with one count of sexual battery on a helpless victim.

The break in the unsolved 23-year-old case came earlier this year, when investigators reviewing old files discovered the victim’s rape kit, which had never been tested.

When they submitted the DNA evidence for testing, it matched Chavez’s DNA profile.

According to an old police report, on the night of January 7, 1996, the victim, identified only by her initials, M.G., went out with a friend and two of her associates, whom she knew as ‘Nick’ and ‘Booda.’

The men allegedly gave the teenagers a Rohypnol pill, known colloquially as a ‘roofie,’ before heading to the Mr Lucky’s pool hall in Margate for drinks.

The victim told police she consumed three alcoholic beverages, and the last thing she remembered was calling her boyfriend.

Early the following morning, the girl woke up without her underwear next to a used condom in a La Quinta Inn hotel in Coral Springs and called the police.

The 17-year-old girl told detectives she was a virgin before the rape.  

Special Victims Unit detectives conducted an investigation ‘but unfortunately the evidence recovered was not enough to positively identify the person responsible for the crime,’ according to a press release.

Chavez was busted after police submitted a 17-year-old girl's rape kit from 23 years ago, and it linked him to the crime

Chavez has a long history of arrests (pictured in his old mugshot)

Chavez, who has a long history of arrests (pictured in his old mugshots), was busted after police submitted a 17-year-old girl’s rape kit from 23 years ago, and it linked him to the crime 

Police identified ‘Nick’ as Chavez and interviewed him and the other man known as ‘Booda,’ but they were never arrested. 

On April 22, 2019, SVU detectives and members of CSI re-evaluated evidence from cold cases and sent the rape kit of the victim in the 1996 sexual assault to the Broward Sheriff’s Office Crime Lab for processing ‘utilizing current technology.’

A month later, detectives learned that foreign DNA had been detected on part of the evidence, linking Chavez to the rape.  

Detectives reached out to the victim, now living in Maine, to notify her of the break in the case, and the woman said she wanted the suspect to be prosecuted. 

At the time of his arrest on Monday, Chavez ‘refused to provide a statement,’ according to police. 

Chavez’s extensive record includes prior arrests for possession of Hydromorphone, trafficking and possession of cocaine, possession of cannabis, fleeing and eluding from law enforcement personnel, carrying concealed weapon, and several traffic violations. 

The 55-year-old suspect was booked into the Broward County Jail and ordered held without bond.    

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk