Lisa Fogarty, Fri, September 12, 2014
Fourteen years after a young
woman was reportedly raped, the suspect behind the crime has finally been
arrested thanks to DNA evidence – and it’s someone few people probably believed
could
Fourteen years after a young
woman was reportedly raped, the suspect behind the crime has finally been
arrested thanks to DNA evidence – and it’s someone few people probably believed
could have been responsible for it. Bridges Randle, 40, is a former Memphis
police officer who now works as an administrator at the Boys and Girls Club in
Atlanta. He’s also the same man police say may have raped a 23-year-old woman
back in June 2000, reports Raw Story. Investigators say the young woman called
police to report a domestic violence incidence 14 years ago. One of the
officers who reportedly responded to the call was Randle, and the victim claims
he returned to her home later that day to question her. That was when she says
he forced her by gunpoint into the bedroom, where he allegedly raped her.
Despite the fact that DNA evidence was collected at the time, it took more than
a decade for the untested rape kit to make it into the national crime database,
reports WMC. Randle, meanwhile, reportedly quit the police department in 2001,
moved to Atlanta, and changed his name. It is not known how he was eventually
caught, but the Boys and Girls Club released this statement following his
arrest: “Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Atlanta has learned that a staff
member has been accused of rape and is being held on bond in the Shelby County
Jail in Tennessee. We are deeply concerned and alarmed by this allegation, and
have taken immediate action. The employee has been terminated and we have
prohibited this individual’s access to our organization and any of our
operations.” Randle has been indicted for aggravated rape and is being held in
lieu of $250,000 bond. Sources: Raw Story, WMC
