Leo Bradley Scott III, 60 years old, was arrested on July 20, 2021, for two sexual assaults that took place in Cleveland, Ohio, in the 1990s.
The first assault took place on October 14, 1994, on Euclid Avenue, when a 22-year-old woman was dragged off the street, choked, threatened with death, and sexually assaulted. A SAK was collected from the victim at the hospital.
The second assault took place on April 18, 1998, when a 26-year-old woman was attacked after leaving a nightclub. After she declined a ride from her attacker, he pulled her into the vehicle and sexually assaulted her. A SAK was also collected from this victim at the hospital.
Neither of these assault kits were tested until 2013, when the Sexual Assault Kit Task Force received funding to clear the backlog of untested SAKs. The kits were linked together, but there were no hits in the CODIS database. The suspect, known as “John Doe #64” was chosen as one of 20 priority cases for the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office’s G.O.L.D. (Genetic Operations Linking DNA) Unit. The funding for this project was provided by the U.S. Department of Justice in October of 2020. The G.O.L.D.
The FIGG investigation was conducted by Barbara Rae-Venter of Firebird Forensics. The initial confirmation was made through surreptitious sampling.
Scott was charged with three counts of rape and two counts of kidnapping in Cuyahoga County. Scott pled guilty to rape and sexual battery on Monday January 30, 2023, on the day his trial was to begin. In return, prosecutors dropped a charge of rape and kidnapping. He is to be sentenced on March 3, 2023.
Sources:
Anderson, Chris. “3 ‘Most Wanted’ Suspects Identified in Decades-Old Cuyahoga County Sexual Assault Cases.” Cleveland 19 News, December 28, 2021. Accessed January 9, 2022. https://www.cleveland19.com/2021/12/28/3-most-wanted-suspects-identified-decades-old-cuyahoga-county-sexual-assault-cases/.
Belle, Cris. “Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Identifies Three More Sexual Assault Suspects on ’20 Most Wanted’ List.” Fox 8 News, December 28, 2021. Accessed January 9, 2022. https://fox8.com/news/cuyahoga-county-prosecutor-identifies-three-more-sexual-assault-suspects-on-20-most-wanted-list/.
Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office. “Ohio’s G.O.L.D. Unit IDs 3 More Sexual Assault Suspects from 20 Most Wanted.” Forensic Magazine, January 5, 2022. Accessed January 9, 2022. https://www.forensicmag.com/582405-Ohio-s-G-O-L-D-Unit-IDs-3-More-Sexual-Assault-Suspects-from-20-Most-Wanted/.
Shaffer, Cory. “Cleveland Man Tied to Decades-Old Rapes Through Genealogical DNA Database Pleads Guilty.” Cleveland.com, January 31, 2023. Accessed February 3, 2023. https://www.cleveland.com/court-justice/2023/01/cleveland-man-tied-to-decades-old-rapes-through-genealogical-dna-database-pleads-guilty.html.
Shaffer, Cory. “Cuyahoga County Prosecutors’ Genealogical DNA Unit IDs Three More Men Accused of Raping Women in the 1990s.” Cleveland.com, December 27, 2021. Accessed January 9, 2022. https://www.cleveland.com/court-justice/2021/12/cuyahoga-county-prosecutors-genealogical-dna-unit-ids-three-more-men-accused-of-raping-women-in-the-1990s.html.