Police: DNA Evidence Links Man To 2004 Kidnapping, Rape

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- DNA evidence has confirmed that a man accused of kidnapping and raping an 11-year-old girl is the person for whom police were looking, authorities said.

Norman Ray Pickel was arrested in November on suspicion of burglary, kidnapping and sexual battery of a child under 13.

Around 2 a.m. on Aug. 19, 2004, police said Pickel pulled the girl out of her bedroom through a window and raped her next to her house. Pickel ran away when the girl's mother woke up and began calling the child's name, police said.

Police collected DNA from the scene and, in November 2005, Pickel was arrested by Manchester, Ky., authorities and extradited to Florida.

In January, additional DNA samples were gathered that matched Pickel to the rape.

He is currently being held without bond at the Joseph V. Conte Facility.