CLEVELAND – A Lorain man accused of breaking into two homes and kidnapping a girl and trying to abduct another has been indicted on rape and other charges, thanks to a new law enforcement technique.
Investigators say they used a “familial DNA” search to link the 29-year-old man to both cases, the first use of the technique in Ohio. A familial DNA search aims to identify a first-generation male relative of the person who actually committed a crime, according to Ohio attorney general Mike DeWine, who authorized the Bureau of Criminal Investigation to start researching familial DNA searches in 2012.
Authorities are calling Justin Christian a serial abductor and are looking into whether he was involved in similar abduction attempts.
A grand jury on Monday indicted Christian on rape, kidnapping and aggravated burglary charges. Police arrested him Friday.
Prosecutors say Christian is suspected of kidnapping a 6-year-old Cleveland girl in May and attempting to abduct a 10-year-old Elyria girl in February.
Familial DNA searches, which are done in 10 other states, help authorities identify a suspect who might have committed the crime. The name of a suspect’s close relative identified via the search is shared with detectives who will determine if they have enough evidence to make an arrest, DeWine said.
DeWine says the very time-consuming process of familial DNA searches will be limited to the most serious unsolved crimes or serial cases with a public safety component and cases in which all other leads have been exhausted.
There were no court records indicating whether Christian has an attorney. There is no home telephone listing for him.