DNA test clears teen in attack

By KEVIN SHEA

Staff Writer

EWING - DNA evidence has cleared a 15-year-old township boy who was charged with raping a 39-year-old woman in her Pennington Road home in August and now investigators are seeking the public's help in catching the attacker, officials said yesterday.

The Mercer County Prosecutor's Office, which announced the development yesterday, said the teen recently pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit burglary in an unrelated incident and was sentenced to a year probation.

Neither the teen nor the victim have been identified by authorities.

But police in August said the teen was from the 1600 block of Pennington Road and was arrested by a police officer shortly after the incident in the area of the 1800 block of Pennington Road, where the victim lives.

The teen's presence in the area now appears to have been a coincidence.

The victim was attacked by someone who entered her home through a second-floor window by using a ladder, police have said.

The victim was asleep at about 2:05 a.m. on Aug. 2 when a male grabbed her, sexually assaulted her, then asked for money. She told the intruder the money was downstairs, knowing a home security alarm would activate when they walked downstairs. When the alarm went off, the suspect fled.

Now, police and prosecutor's detectives are looking for a suspect who may have been carrying a ladder in the area of the 1800 block of Pennington Road at time of the incident. Or, authorities said, they urge anyone in the area who may be missing a ladder to contact them.

Anyone with information about the crime or who recalls any activity that seemed suspicious can call Ewing Detective Bill Wolverton at (609) 406-5577, or the Ewing police confidential tip line at (609) 882-7530.