Sgt. Larry Tolpin with the Dayton Police Special Victim’s Unit, said a DNA match led to Northern’s arrest on Thursday at his home on South Sperling Avenue.
“We did (in 2009) recover DNA evidence,” he said. “Last week we received information from the Miami Valley Regional Crime Lab that there was a match.” He said the DNA signature came from a national database system, but didn’t know when or under what circumstances Northern’s DNA was entered into the system.
Northern has no prior arrests for sex-related offenses. His only felony arrest was for forgery in 2007, and he was not convicted.
Tolpin said Northern initially denied any connection to the 2009 incident, but later admitted that he had sexual contact with a female he didn’t know on that night. He disputes that the contact was forcible rape, Tolpin said.
The 16-year-old told police that she was walking home in the 300 block of Cherry at about 11:30 p.m. when she was forcibly abducted, dragged into an alley and sexually assaulted.
The Montgomery County Prosecutor’s office has approved a charge of rape.
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