UPDATE: New technology leads to arrest of man for 1988 rape
Published 4:34 pm Monday, April 24, 2023
- Sheriff Tony Mancuso announces at a Monday press conference that an arrest has been made in a 1988 cold case rape. (Donna Price / American Press)
An arrest has been made in connection with a crime committed over 30 years after DNA from the rape kit was resubmitted by the Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office and re-examined by the SWLA Crime Lab. The Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office is solving crimes from the past using today’s advanced technology. At least 30 unsolved Calcasieu Parish sex crimes, some going back as far as 1987, are getting a second look.
Not all resubmitted cold case evidence will lead to an arrest, Mancuso said. “I do find it promising that the first case we’ve worked, has.”
In 1988, the CPSO was called to an address where a woman reported that a man entered through her window, beat her and knocked her unconscious. When she awoke, she was being raped. An officer took the victim to a hospital where a rape kit was completed. Running the DNA didn’t result in any hits or matches, Sheriff Tony Mancuso explained during the Monday press conference.
This time around, it did.
On April 19, Special Victims Unit detectives located Dartanyan K. Breaux, 57. He was arrested and booked into the Calcasieu Correctional Center and charged with aggravated rape. Judge Tony Fazzio set his bond at $950,000. CPSO Special Victims Unit Detective Cory Myers is the lead investigator.
“Back then, technology was not what it is today,” said Sheriff Tony Mancuso. “If we didn’t have a suspect we could match blood typing to, then it didn’t do us any good. With the latest DNA testing innovations, we have evolved into a much stronger evidence-based system.”
Mancuso talked about the changes in how crime scene evidence is collected today compared to the 1980s and how even the smallest DNA samples can lead to helping solve a crime now that forensic genetics software and testing equipment is so much more advanced.
The victim’s name wasn’t released. Mancuso commended her courage in being willing to testify and pursue charges.
“She lived with this for over 30 years. As for me and my staff, I can say there is so much satisfaction that we can take a case that, otherwise, 30 years ago , wouldn’t have gotten solved. Now we have the ability to bring closure, to bring justice….”
