CMPD cold case unit arrests suspect in 1992 rape case

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CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department’s Sexual Assault Cold Case Unit said it’s charged a man accused in a 1992 rape and kidnapping case.

Detectives said Kenneth McIllwaine, 52, has been charged with first-degree kidnapping and second-degree rape.

[RELATED: New grant provides new prosecutor to help backlogged rape cases]

Police said on June 5, 1992, a 27-year-old woman reported she had accepted a ride home from a man. She said instead of taking her home, the suspect drove to Rama Road and sexually assaulted her.

Officers said the suspect then dragged the victim from the car to a dumpster, forced her in it and left the scene.

[RELATED: CMPD charges sex offender with raping 2 teen girls in 1990, 1994]

Police said a sexual assault kit was collected at the time of the crime and additional testing was conducted in 2017 as part of a federal grant received by CMPD.

Police said DNA evidence identified McIllwaine as the suspect.

McIllwaine is currently behind bars at the Tabor City Correctional Institute in North Carolina for a 1995 rape.

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