Arrest made 28 years after woman tied up, sexually assaulted

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A man is now behind bars, thanks to DNA evidence, 28 years after police said he broke into a woman’s home, tied her up and sexually assaulted her.

On Wednesday, Charlotte-Mecklenburg police announced the arrest of 58-year-old Kevin McNamee. He has been charged for that sex assault in 1991 and detectives are investigating his potential involvement in others.

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On Sept. 20, 1991, a 24-year-old woman was asleep in her home on Runaway Bay Drive in southeast Charlotte when she woke up to a stranger in the house, according to CMPD. The man bound her and sexually assaulted her.

After the attack, the victim was taken to the hospital where she completed a sexual assault kit.

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In 2005, more testing was done on that rape kit and a DNA profile was entered into a DNA database, CMPD said.

This past November, testing performed on evidence through the 2019 Sexual Assault Kit Initiative grant and use of genealogical research identified McNamee as a person of interest.

Detectives investigated further and found that McNamee’s DNA matched the DNA profile, and warrants were issued for his arrest on Dec. 12. McNamee was found and arrested that same day.

He has been charged with first-degree burglary, second-degree rape, second-degree sex offense and second-degree kidnapping.

According to CMPD, McNamee’s criminal history includes 19 separate charges for burglaries and break-ins which took place in 1984, several for which he was convicted and sent to prison for between 1984 and 1990.