By Shayna Jacobs
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MANHATTAN SUPREME COURT — Prosecutors matched an arson convict with a decade-old cold case rape using DNA technology, the Manhattan District Attorney said Tuesday.
Prosecutors said Rajeev Kumar, 30, who was convicted of arson in Queens last year, was arraigned Tuesday on rape and sodomy charges for sexually assaulting a woman in a limousine ten years ago.
When Kumar was convicted of intentionally setting a fire in Queens last year, authorities took a sample of his DNA to be entered into the state database — a practice required by law for all convicted felons and people who are guilty of certain misdemeanors.
His DNA profile matched DNA taken from a rape kit from a 10-year-old rape case, which prosecutors can now pursue.
"DNA evidence brings life to cold cases and delivers justice for victims," Manhattan DA Cy Vance Jr. said in a statement.
Kumar was arraigned in Manhattan Supreme Court on Tuesday. Bail was set at $100,000 bond or $75,000 bail.
