FAR ROCKAWAY — A 47-year-old former Far Rockaway man was indicted on charges of raping a woman in her home more than 17 years ago after DNA analysis allegedly connected him to the crime, the Queens district attorney said.
Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said Richard Thomas, 47, whose last known address was on New Haven Avenue, was arraigned March 28 before Queens Supreme Court Justice Richard Buchter on first-degree rape and first-degree sodomy charges.
Thomas, who faces up to 25 years in prison, was ordered held without bail, according to Brown.
The DA’s DNA Prosecutions Unit, which routinely reviews unsolved sexual assault cases, discovered a T-shirt and rug connected to a 1996 attack in Far Rockaway had not been submitted for DNA testing, authorities said. The rape suspect had allegedly wiped his genitals on the rug, the DA said.
Prosecutors said they ran tests on semen found on the rug, compiled a DNA profile and then matched it to Thomas in a DNA databank.
Brown said the victim was sleeping beside her husband on July 28, 1996, when she awoke to find Thomas allegedly standing over her with a gun. He allegedly told her not to look at him or make any noise and threatened to blow her husband’s head off, the DA said.
Thomas then allegedly forced the woman out of bed and onto the floor before raping her, according to Brown.
