North Haven police have arrested a man who is accused of sexually assaulting and impregnating his stepdaughter, who has intellectual disabilities, and they said investigators identified the suspect through DNA that familiy members had submitted to genealogy companies.
Police said they received a complaint in January 2024 that a 23-year-old woman who has intellectual disabilities had been sexually assaulted.
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WATCH HEREThe victim had complained of stomach pains, so her mother took her to the hospital and that revealed that the victim was pregnant, police said.
When the victim was around six months into the pregnancy, she experienced a miscarriage.
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SIGN UP The state forensic lab was able to isolate the paternal DNA, but no match was found, police said.
As the investigation continued, a company that specializes in forensic genetic genealogy agreed to work with investigators and the DNA was compared with DNA that had been willingly submitted to genealogy companies, which led to a partial match, according to police.
Investigators were then able to complete a family tree from the partial match and identify a suspect.
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Police said the suspect’s DNA was a match for the paternal DNA and detectives obtained an arrest warrant for the victim’s stepfather.
The 49-year-old New Haven man was arrested on Tuesday and he was charged with sexual assault in the second degree and held on a $200,000 bond.
