Tests on Forgotten Rape Kits Results in Cold Case Arrest

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A 48-year-old Detroit man has been arrested for the alleged rape of an 18-year-old woman in Oakland County in a 2008 cold case.

The arrest of Alan Donnell Broadnax came after about 10,000 of the 11,000 sexual assault kits found abandoned in a police storage unit in 2009 — some of them decades old — were tested.

Broadnax was charged with first-degree criminal sexual conduct, Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette said in a statement.

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His office is working closely with Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy to process the forgotten rape kits, and this is the first case the attorney general’s office has received as part of the new Wayne County Sexual Assault Kit Task Force.

The victim in the case was allegedly knocked unconscious by Broadnax and sexually assaulted at a Southfield home. After being forced to walk home, she immediately reported the rape to the Hamtramck police.

Broadnax was arraigned Thursday in 46th District Court in Southfield. Bond was set at $100,000 cash. If he posts bond, he will be required to wear a GPS tether.

Schuette has asked that Broadnax, if convicted, be sentenced under Michigan’s habitual offender law as a fourth-offense violent felony. The law requires a minimum 25-year sentence for certain repeat offenders who have committed four felonies while progressing to more violent crimes.

Broadnax is due back in court for a pre-exam conference on Oct. 15.

Some of the rape kits found in the Detroit Police Department storage facility dated back 30 years. Nearly 2,500 suspects have been identified through efforts to clear the glut, and about 500 of those suspects are considered serial rapists who have committed multiple crimes, some in multiple jurisdictions, Worthy’s office has said.

Michigan victims of sexual violence are encouraged to call the national sexual assault hotline toll-free, (800) 656-HOPE. All calls are confidential, and will be answered by a local counseling center affiliated with the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN). Assistance is also available online at www.rainn.org.