DNA Match Leads To Arrest In Years Old Ohio Rape Case

CLEVELAND — A man faces charges in connection with a rape case after investigators matched his DNA to the victim's rape kit more than 20 years after the attack.

The rape kit sat unsubmitted until 2013, when it was finally tested and analyzed for DNA, prosecutors said. The analysis initially produced no matches, but prosecutors kept the case alive by filing charges against John Doe No. 133, a move that prevented the case from falling victim to a statute of limitations clause. As DNA analysis technology advanced, and with the aid of federal grants, prosecutors were able to finally develop a profile of the suspect in the rape.

Bart Mercurio, 50, from Elyria, now faces charges of rape, kidnapping and aggravated burglary in connection to the crime. Mercurio is being held at Cuyahoga County Jail and will be arraigned Tuesday.

“Although time may have passed, justice will not. It has been a long 22 years for this victim, but we hope today’s news will bring her some comfort in knowing this individual is finally behind bars," O'Malley said in a statement.

On May 6, 1999, a 33-year-old woman left her house in Cleveland's Tremont neighborhood and went for a walk. When she came home, a man was inside, prosecutors said.

The man grabbed her, hit her until she was unconscious and then sexually assaulted her, prosecutors said. The man then ran out of the house, allowing the woman to call the police, prosecutors added.

The woman was taken to the hospital, where a sexual assault kit was collected.

Investigators failed to identify a suspect in the rape for 14 years. Then, in 2013, the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor's Office assembled the Sexual Assault Kit Task Force. The task force's primary mission was testing unsubmitted rape kits from between 1993 and 2011.

The 33-year-old's rape kit was tested by the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation. The DNA did not initially produce any matches in the FBI's national database. The DNA profile from the kit was indicted as "John Doe No. 133" to ensure the statute of limitations on the case did not run out.

The Department of Justice awarded grants in 2019 and 2020 to support DNA testing on old cases. Cuyahoga County's Genetic Operations Linking DNA (GOLD) Unit launched in 2020, with the aid of the grants, and began working with Gene by Gene to build DNA profiles connected to cold cases.

John Doe No. 133 was submitted for profiling as part of the project. Investigators connected the DNA to Mercurio, prosecutors said.

Investigators then obtained Mercurio's DNA and sent it to state analysts for testing. The DNA matched Mercurio, prosecutors said.

The original John Doe No. 133 indictment was amended to reflect Mercurio's name and a warrant for his arrest was issued, prosecutors said. Police and U.S. Marshals took him into custody on Friday at his home in Elyria.