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New technology helps Pinellas Co. deputies make arrest in 1987 kidnapping, sexual assault

In 2016, the fingerprinting system was upgraded and during a case review in Jan. 2018, the new fingerprinting technology connected the DNA from the 1987 case to a suspect in Mississippi.

SEMINOLE, Fla. -- Deputies arrested a man living in Mississippi for an alleged sexual battery that happened 31 years ago.

The victim, who was 22-years-old at the time, drove to laundromat located on Seminole Boulevard around 10 a.m. on Feb. 16, 1987.

As she was taking clothes out of a washing machine, she was approached from behind by an unknown male suspect who held a knife to her side.

He forced her inside of his vehicle and drove her to a wooded area, forcing her to undress and perform sexual acts and sexually battered her while he held a knife to her.

He drove her back to the laundromat and told her to stay inside of the bathroom for ten minutes before she could leave. The victim called police as soon as she left the laundromat.

Fingerprints were taken from a public telephone by the laundromat and a further investigation began. In 2016, the fingerprinting system was upgraded and during a case review in Jan. 2018, the new fingerprinting technology connected the DNA from the 1987 case to a suspect.

The suspect, now identified as 59-year-old Russell Lee Rogers, was traced to Oak Vale, MS, and a search warrant allowed the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation to obtain further DNA from Rogers to be sent back to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

An arrest warrant was obtained and Pinellas detectives interviewed him further in Monticello, MS. Rogers did not deny the allegations, but claimed he 'could not recall the incident.'

Rogers was charged with two counts of Armed Sexual Battery and one count of Armed Kidnapping. He has been booked at the Lawrence County Sheriff's Office Jail, where he will wait to be extradited to Pinellas County.

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