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Justice Served: Cold Case Rapes Solved After 40 Years
10 Sep
Summary
- Attacker sentenced to 45 years for rapes committed in 1985.
- DNA evidence from decades-old rape kits led to the arrest.
- Federal funding aided in testing kits and prosecution expenses.
Decades after suffering brutal attacks, two women have received a measure of justice. In 1985, within the same Atlanta apartment complex, both Juanita Ransome and Cynthia Hunt were raped by Anthony Ross Houston. Their attacker has now been sentenced to 45 years in prison after pleading guilty to both assaults.
For years, both victims felt abandoned by the justice system. The breakthrough came when DNA from rape kits, stored for decades, was tested. These kits yielded matches to Houston when compared against a national database. Prosecutors noted that federal funding played a crucial role in enabling the testing of hundreds of sexual assault kits, contributing to cases like this.
Houston had a prior conviction in 1987 for the rape of a mother and daughter, receiving a life sentence with the possibility of parole. Prosecutors revealed he was also indicted for other rapes but those charges were postponed. He made parole in 2022, but absconded by cutting off his ankle monitor and living under an assumed name until his recent arrest. His parole has since been revoked.
