PHOENIX, AZ (May 18, 2011) – An effort to prove the innocence of convicted sex offender Timothy Roosevelt Boles (DOB 6/29/59) has instead confirmed his guilt and linked him to a previously unsolved case of child sexual abuse from 1991. Boles, who is currently serving a 333-year sentence for prior burglary, kidnapping and sexual assault convictions, was identified as the assailant in the 1991 cold case as a result of DNA analysis conducted at the request of the Arizona Justice Project, an inmate advocacy group. He now faces newly filed felony charges of kidnapping, sexual abuse, sexual conduct with a minor, and child molestation, all of which are classified as dangerous crimes against children.
“While DNA analysis is frequently touted as a tool for identifying those who have been wrongfully accused, it is equally valuable in identifying those who are additionally culpable,” said Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery. “Thanks to the skill and diligence of the cold case detectives and crime lab technicians of the Phoenix Police Department, a previously unsolved crime now has a named and indicted suspect. We expect to have many more matches like this as more felons are added to the national DNA database and as more evidence samples are subjected to improved analytic techniques.” he added.
On March 9, 1993, a jury found Timothy Boles guilty of multiple charges related to four sexual assaults, one of which took place in 1988, and three of which occurred in 1991. Each of the attacks occurred in the early morning hours within neighboring apartment complexes in Phoenix near 15th Avenue and Glendale. All four victims were young females and assaulted in their apartments or kidnapped from their apartments and assaulted nearby. DNA analysis of sperm collected at two of the 1991 crime scenes confirmed a match with Boles’ profile, yet techniques available at the time precluded effective DNA analysis of the evidence collected at the 1988 crime scene and one of the 1991 crime scenes.
In September, 2010, with support from the Arizona Justice Project, Boles attempted to prove his innocence of the 1988 assault by submitting a DNA sample for a new analysis based on improved methodology. The following February, DNA evidence from a separate, previously unsolved 1991 sexual assault case was uploaded to Combined DNA Index System (CODIS), a national database maintained by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Results of the DNA analysis revealed a match with not only the 1988 assault for which Boles had previously been convicted, but the unsolved 1991 sexual assault that had been added to CODIS in February, 2011.
Consistent with the pattern and location of his other sexual assaults, Boles is alleged to have taken a 12 year-old girl from her apartment while she was sleeping and sexually assaulted her outside. Although DNA evidence was collected from the crime scene, it was not analyzed until July 2010, when Phoenix Police cold case detectives submitted it for DNA testing and ultimately discovered a match with Boles through the CODIS database.
Timothy Boles now faces an additional life prison sentence if convicted on all counts.
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