Florida Man Arrested for 2016 Georgia Rape, Kidnapping

A Florida man, 42-year-old Julius Hunter, has been arrested and extradited to DeKalb County, Georgia, for a 2016 sexual assault and kidnapping. The victim, then 19, responded to a Craigslist ad seeking an overnight babysitter and was subsequently assaulted for several hours by Hunter in a Clarkston apartment. The case went cold for years, despite DNA evidence from the sexual assault kit not yielding an immediate match. Officials later connected the DNA to other kits from 2016 and 2017. Investigators were able to link Hunter to the 2016 assault after his conviction in a separate 2021 sexual battery case in Florida. He was apprehended by U.S. Marshals in Fort Lauderdale while on probation and is now held without bond in DeKalb County Jail. Authorities are actively seeking other potential victims who may have been lured by similar Craigslist ads for jobs like modeling, dancing, or massages, as some victims met Hunter at the same Jolly Avenue apartment.