New DNA technology has helped Detectives in the United Kingdom solve the rape of a 14-year old in 2006 in Bedford, pinpointing a convicted rapist currently serving jail time for a separate rape as the suspect.
Last week, Donald Kargbo-Reffell, was sentenced to 19 years in prison for the rape of a teenager thanks to the use of new DNA techniques using DNA collected at the time of the crime.
“I am delighted that Kargbo-Reffell has been sentenced for this predatory and calculated attack,” Detective Superintendent Emma Pitts, head of Public Protection at Bedfordshire Police, said in a statement. “Kargbo-Reffell targeted a vulnerable teenage girl, orchestrated her into a situation where she was even more vulnerable and then raped her.
“He knew exactly what he was doing, targeting a vulnerable girl and believing that he had got away with it,” she added. “Policing has made vital progress since this attack happened, both in terms of technology but also in how we respond to this kind of sexual exploitation and abuse. It is never too late to get justice.”
Initially Kargbo-Reffell was named the primary suspect and was arrested at the time, but not charged due to technology limitations with the forensic evidence. However, investigators did collect and maintain DNA evidence from the scene of the crime and new technologies enabled them to piece together that Kargbo-Reffell was responsible for the rape.
The arrest is part of Operation Painter, a major crime unit investigation into backdated sex crimes run by the Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Major Crime Unit.
The suspect allegedly invited the victim to his home and supplied her with alcohol before raping her.
This is now at least the second time investigators used new technologies to solve a rape involving the suspect.
Kargbo-Reffell is currently serving a 12 year prison sentence for a 1999 rape that wasn't solved until 2018 using new DNA technologies.
Kargbo-Reffell is liable to be deported at the end of his sentence and was put on the Sex Offenders Register for life. He is also banned from making contact with any child under the age of 18.
The victim made a statement to the judge of the case following the sentencing.
“His actions have had a massive impact on my life, he has destroyed my mental and physical health,” she said. “Destroying my reputation, the trust I have in other people, relations with family members and partners, stealing the last part of my childhood which I should have been allowed to enjoy as a young teenager, turning into an adult.”