DNA leads to rape conviction

By JACLYN PITTS

A "cold case" DNA match has aided getting a conviction recently in a rape that occurred 11 years ago in Woodbridge.

Kenneth Ray Bedard, 42, of Edgewood, Md., was convicted Monday in Prince William Circuit Court by Judge Frank A. Hoss Jr. of abduction, rape, forcible sodomy and use of a firearm in each.

On Oct. 20, 1995, a 27-year-old female real estate agent who was selling town homes near Gina Place was attacked and raped in a model home, according to police.

Police initially had no suspects in the case.

In 1996, forensic analysis found no DNA in the state database that matched evidence from the victim, according to court documents.

Bedard was indicted on the charges in March after his DNA was matched as a "cold hit" in a recent database search, according to court documents.

Bedard said he worked for a trash removal company in the Manassas area at the time of the incident, according to court documents.

He said he didn't know how his DNA was found at the scene, according to court documents.

Bedard pleaded not guilty to all six charges and had an independent DNA laboratory expert review the state's analysis in his defense.

Bedard is currently serving a sentence of five years and 10 months for a 2003 malicious wounding conviction in Spotsylvania County.

Earlier this year, Bedard entered Alford pleas in Prince William Circuit Court to charges of statutory burglary and rape from 2000.

Bedard was sentenced to serve a total of 50 years for those charges, followed by 16 years of probation.

Bedard is being held without bond until his sentencing on Sept. 11. He faces up to life in prison.