Police: DNA Evidence Leads To 1992 Rape Arrest

SILVER SPRING, Md. -- DNA evidence was used to help investigators make an arrest this week in a Montgomery County rape case from 1992.

Gerald Anthony Smith, 36, of Forestville, was arrested Monday after his DNA matched DNA evidence collected from the victim at the hospital after she was attacked, police said.

The rape occurred in November 1992. A 21-year-old Silver Spring woman said she was walking in the area of Castle Boulevard when a man grabbed her from behind. She said he showed a handgun, threatened her with physical violence and demanded that she take him to her home. Once there, the man forced her into her apartment, where he sexually assaulted her, according to the woman. The man then searched her apartment for money, but didn't find any before leaving, the woman said.

DNA evidence taken from the victim at the hospital was matched with DNA entered into the National DNA Databank this year, and an arrest warrant for Smith was issued on Oct. 24. The Montgomery County Police Repeat Offender Section and the U.S. Marshals Service in Georgia tracked down Smith, and he was arrested Monday.

Smith was charged with first-degree rape and using a handgun in the commission of a felony/violent crime.

He is being held at the Montgomery County Detention Center on $1 million bond.