Man Confesses To 1997 Sexual Assault, Sent To NJ Prison

MOUNT HOLLY, NJ — The man connected to a 1997 Mount Laurel sexual assault by DNA evidence gathered 22 years later in Cinnaminson has been sentenced to prison, Burlington County's prosecutor said.

Rodolfo Vasquez, 63, of Merchantville was sentenced to eight years in New Jersey state prison for the home invasion and sexual assault of a woman in June 1997, said Prosecutor LaChia L. Bradshaw.

In June 2022, Vasquez pleaded guilty to a first-degree charge of aggravated sexual assault, Bradshaw said. He admitted to breaking into the Camber Lane home and sexually assaulting a woman who was there by herself, officials said. Related article — Man Arrested In Cinnaminson Charged In 1997 Sexual Assault: Cops

The woman tried to defend herself from his physical attacks and has permanent vision damage in one eye, Bradshaw said.

Vasquez must serve 85 percent of the term before he is eligible for parole, Bradshaw said. Judge Christopher J. Garrenger sentenced him recently, she said.

In 2019, officials arrested Vasquez in Cinnaminson and charged him with operating a motor vehicle on a suspended license. That September he pleaded guilty to an amended charge of contempt of a judicial order, which required him to submit a DNA sample into the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS), which is overseen by the FBI, police said.

That DNA sample matched a DNA sample that had been collected by Mount Laurel police 16 years earlier in connection with a sexual assault case, police said.

"This case strongly demonstrates the value of the CODIS database as a law enforcement tool," Bradshaw said. "I commend all of the investigators and law enforcement personnel whose thorough, diligent work held the defendant accountable after all of this time and brought justice for the victim."

On June 14, 1997, the woman told Mount Laurel officers she heard a noise and got out of bed to check on it when a man confronted her in her bedroom doorway. The man grabbed her and began hitting her in the head, police said. He then sexually assaulted her and told her not to call the police before fleeing the residence, police said.

It was dark, and the woman could not provide a detailed description of her attacker, Bradshaw said.

Officers discovered the rear sliding glass door had been forced open, police said.

They collected evidence, and the victim agreed to have a sexual assault examination performed at a hospital, police said. Evidence was submitted to the New Jersey State Police crime laboratory in the hopes of collecting DNA from the suspect. The DNA profile did not identify the suspect when entered into a national database, Bradshaw said.

In August 2020, Mount Laurel Police were notified that Vasquez's DNA matched the profile from the 1997 case through CODIS.

The woman told police she didn’t know Vasquez, and wasn’t sure if he would have lived near her at the time of the assault. She had also suffered permanent partial vision loss as a result of the attack, police said.

Police then obtained a DNA search warrant through Burlington County Superior Court to confirm the CODIS hit for Vasquez, police said.

On September 24, 2020, police found Vasquez at an apartment in Merchantville, and asked him to come in for questioning. At that time, police collected a DNA sample from Vasquez that was sent to the New Jersey State Police crime lab.

On Jan. 1, 2021, Mount Laurel police said they received confirmation that the DNA collected at the crime scene belonged to Vasquez. After contacting the Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office, Mount Laurel police put a complaint together. On Sept. 26 of that year, Pennsauken police arrested Vasquez.

Pennsauken PD turned him over to Mount Laurel police. The MLPD charged him with aggravated sexual assault, sexual assault, aggravated assault and second-degree burglary. He was taken to Burlington County Jail.

Bradshaw said Mount Laurel Detective James Letchford, who retired in 2001, conducted the original investigation. Mount Laurel Detective Sergeant Sean Bristow was the lead investigator when the case was reopened following the DNA match, she said.

Assistant Prosecutor Stephen Eife, supervisor of the BCPO Special Victims Unit, was the prosecutor on Vasquez's case, said Bradshaw.

This story contains reporting by Anthony Bellano.