A 41-year-old man has pleaded guilty to raping a 13-year-old girl when he broke into her family's Cambridge, Massachusetts, home in the fall of 2000.
Roger W. Reddick Jr., of Cambridge, was charged in the case earlier this year, nearly 23 years after prosecutors say he broke into the home on Oct. 18, 2000, rushed into the victim's bedroom and repeatedly raped her. Reddick allegedly asked the victim how old she was during the attack.
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The victim eventually escaped the room and screamed out for help. Reddick followed after her and ran out of the house into the street.
At the time, investigators collected evidence, including a fingerprint that would eventually be matched Reddick on a jewelry box, and DNA. It wasn't enough to charge him, but in 2022 the case was reexamined using new technology that found Reddick's DNA on a pair of boxer shorts left at the scene.
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“For twenty-three years, the victim in this case has lived with the mystery of who came into her bedroom and violently sexually assaulted her. Today, that woman, now thirty-seven years old and living outside of Massachusetts, had the opportunity to hear the defendant admit to what he had done to her," Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan said in a media statement. "She was able, through her statement to the Court, to describe the impact of these events and the defendant’s actions on her life. This case exemplifies our commitment to continuing to work on uncharged cases, to employing new technological advances and to collaborating with investigators and scientists to identify and hold accountable perpetrators."
Reddick pleaded guilty to three counts of rape of a child with force. He was sentenced to 10-12 years in prison and three years probation. He has been in custody since his arraignment on March 30 of this year.
Resources for victims of sexual assault are available through the National Sexual Violence Resources Center and the National Sexual Assault Telephone Hotline at 800-656-4673, and Massachusetts provides this list of statewide and resources for sexual assault survivors.
