WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Authorities say DNA linked to a Florida rape more than 20 years ago has led to a man being arrested and extradited from San Francisco.
The Palm Beach Post cites a Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office report as saying Lenny Ray Friou has been arrested in the 1998 rape of an 18-year-old woman in West Palm Beach. He was jailed without bail in the county Wednesday on a charge of sexual assault with a weapon or force.
The sheriff's office started a project in 2015 to review a backlog of 1,500 rape evidence kits.
The now-39-year-old victim told the sheriff's office last year that she wanted to pursue the case. It was re-opened in March, and DNA connected Friou to the assault.
It is unclear if he has a lawyer who could comment.
Yesterday evening TL Officers arrested wanted fugitive Lenny Friou at UN Plaza. Friou was wanted out of West Palm Beach Co, Florida for a No Bail Warrant. (Felony sexual battery w/deadly weapon) Friou booked at CJ. SFPD 190004653 pic.twitter.com/GadusaYo63
— SFPD Tenderloin (@SFPDTenderloin) January 3, 2019
