CAMBRIDGE, Mass — After 22 years of searching for the suspect that entered the room of a 13-year-old Cambridge girl and raped her, authorities have made an arrest.
Roger Reddick Jr. 41, of Cambridge, will be arraigned on three counts of rape of a child with force Thursday, Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan said.
A male intruder entered the victim’s Cambridge in the early morning hours of October 18, 2000, Ryan said. Officials say the alleged assaulter entered the victim’s room, covered her mouth with his hand and ordered her to be quiet. During the ensuing sexual assault, the intruder asked the victim how old she was, the DA’s office says.
The victim was eventually able to escape and ran out of the bedroom, screaming for help. The intruder ran out of the home.
Cambridge police searched the area around the home but were unable to find the attacker. Inside the home, investigators recovered a fingerprint on a jewelry box. In 2009, police were able to identify the fingerprint as belonging to Reddick but still did not have sufficient corroboration to charge the man, the DA said.
A pair of green men’s boxer shorts were also found in the bedroom, but investigators were unable to develop a DNA profile until investigators began a renewed examination with new technologies in September of last year.
At the time of the crime, Reddick was a resident of Cambridge who lived less than half a mile from the victim’s house.
“This case is every parent’s nightmare – a violent stranger entering your home in the middle of the night and assaulting your child in their bed. When I started the Cold Case Unit, I made a commitment that we would take every opportunity to use advances in technology to proceed with previously uncharged cases. This case is a perfect example of that work and I am grateful that we are able to begin the process of holding the defendant accountable for the events of that evening,” said Ryan.
“This case represents how committed the Cambridge Police Department is to bringing justice to survivors and their families, and how diligent we will work with our partners to ensure violent criminals are identified and apprehended, no matter how long it takes,” said Cambridge Police Commissioner Christine Elow. “We will always be here for survivors and will never give up trying to find and prosecute the people behind such horrendous acts.”
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