Local accused of rape since 1995 | News, Sports, Jobs

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STATE COLLEGE – Scott R. Williams, 49, of Reedsville, was arrested Tuesday and charged by State College Borough police with rape and other charges arising from an incident over 26 years ago, a statement Center County Attorney’s Press Release Bernie Cantorna States.

Williams faces eight counts in Center County, including rape, aggravated assault, indecent assault and several counts of theft in connection with the incident, which was the subject of ‘an investigation by State College police in May 1995.

Williams was identified by his DNA, which has been compared to samples taken from members of his family. His DNA profile had been recorded from an examination of the accuser at Geisinger Medical Center in Danville after his discovery – although the identity of the owner of the profile was not known at the time. Charges were initially laid against an accused John Doe in 2000, according to court documents.

Police responded on May 13, 1995 to a report of a woman on the roadway who was found by a passerby. When police arrived, the woman had no pants or underwear on, her face was covered in blood and her right eye was swollen, closed, according to a probable cause affidavit. The passerby and another person provided assistance until police arrived, when the woman was first transported to what was then known as Center Community Hospital at State College (now Mount Nittany Medical Center), then transported by plane to Geisinger Medical Center in Danville, declares it under oath.

In Geisinger, evidence was gathered and a DNA profile of the alleged perpetrator was created and preserved, according to court documents.

The accuser was questioned on May 16, 1995 and May 22, 1995 by State College police. Police said they did not recall details of the assault, but said she did not have consensual sex in the hours leading up to the reported attack.

In addition, police said, she was beaten with an object and items including her apartment key, a credit card, a Penn State student ID card and a driver’s license were confiscated from her.

In 2002, State College Police asked the FBI to perform an updated test on DNA evidence. Further testing was carried out and the profile was stored in a law enforcement database.

In 2020, police sent the samples to two companies to see if the DNA profile matched the genetic background in order to identify a suspect. An initial report from one of the companies indicated that the suspect was a white male of European descent. Through the genealogy, a woman who was later found to be a relative of Williams was identified, interviewed and agreed to provide a DNA sample for confirmation, police said.

In February this year, police observed Williams at an event in Mifflin County, hoping to surreptitiously obtain items that Williams had manipulated for a DNA comparison, court documents show. Police were able to obtain items thrown by another family member during this event and again confirmed a relationship using DNA, according to the documents.

Detectives then gathered items thrown at Williams’ home which were tested and compared. As a result of those tests, police said they identified Williams as the only member of the household who may both have similar DNA and have committed the crime under investigation.

Williams is charged with one count of rape, aggravated assault, robbery, indecent assault, common assault, reckless endangerment of another, theft by taking or disposing illegal and receiving stolen goods.

He was arraigned Tuesday before Magistrate District Judge Brian K. Marshall and placed in Center County Correctional Facility, unable to post $ 500,000 bail. A preliminary hearing for Williams is scheduled for Marshall Court on October 13.

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