Alleged child rapist arrested after 33 years using family tree technique, police say

Lina PortmanMay 28, 2024

4 2 minutes read

Australian police say they were able to arrest a suspected child rapist this week after almost 33 years thanks to “groundbreaking” investigative techniques using DNA to build a family tree of the suspect.

Gavin Jeffery Durbridge, 54, appeared in court on Tuesday charged with one count of deprivation of liberty and two counts of serious sexual assault in connection with an alleged 1991 attack on a 13-year-old boy, reports WToday. Durbridge had been arrested a day earlier in connection with the incident, the details of which a judge described as some of the worst he had ever heard.

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The alleged assault took place on October 25, 1991, while the young boy was cycling in the Carine Open Space, a park and recreation area in a suburb of Perth, Western Australia. Authorities say the boy – whose identity has not been released – was on his way to a friend's house when he was confronted by a man who allegedly threatened the child with a knife before overpowering and assaulting him .

The boy reportedly immediately informed the police of the incident and a swab was taken from his clothes kept for 33 years.

“New investigative techniques using genetic genealogy combined with good old-fashioned detective work have led to the results we are getting today,” Western Australia Police's Chloe White said of the process that led to Durbridge's arrest.

She added that a Genetic Genealogy Investigation (GIG) team “became involved in this case earlier this year and their research led to the identification of a family tree of almost three thousand five hundred people “. “The hard work came down to this day when the man was arrested by the team,” she added, saying the alleged victim was “delighted” with the outcome of the investigation.

Although the force has not provided specific details of the process that led police to Durbridge, IGG involves identifying suspects by comparing DNA samples collected from crime scenes with genetic information contained in genealogical databases. By finding even distant relatives, investigators can then use other sources of information such as birth and marriage records to build a family tree which, in turn, can be used to identify possible suspects.

Such techniques were used to catch Joseph James DeAngelo, the so-called Golden State Killer who pleaded guilty in 2020 to a series of murders and kidnappings in California in the 1970s and 1980s.