A western Massachusetts victim of a brutal assault finally may be able to put the nightmares behind her.
Jamie Dodge, 49, of Brownville pleaded guilty this week to aggravated rape and kidnapping in a case stemming from 2000.
The cops in Holland, Massachusetts have been looking for their suspect since July 2000, when a woman there reported she’d been attacked.
The adult victim told investigators that she was walking around Sand Hill Road when she was grabbed from behind, pulled off the road and dragged into the woods.
The unknown attacker who then sexually assaulted her was never found. Police searched for days, weeks, months, and even years.
But the police didn’t give up and kept on the case, one day at a time for a quarter century.
Forensic testing on evidence collected led to the identification of an unknown male DNA profile in 2001.
The profile was then put into a national database and run against profiles for the next 20 years, but still, a match was never found.
The district attorney then hired a Virginia lab to do forensic investigative genetic genealogy on the DNA profile.
“This effort proved fruitful,” Payton North, spokesperson for the Hampden District Attorney’s Office, told WGGB/WSHM.
“Following up on the reported physical characteristics and investigative leads, District Attorney Anthony Gulluni’s Unresolved and Unidentified Case Investigation Unit identified and located the suspected offender,” North explained.
Dodge was arrested May 7, 2024, arraigned the next day and held on a $250,000 cash bail.
During a hearing Wednesday, Judge Tracy Duncan sentenced Dodge to up to 15 years in prison on the rape charge and three years’ probation on the kidnapping charge.
“For 25 years, the victim in this case lived without answers,” North said. “Thanks to advances in forensic technology and the unwavering determination of investigators, we were able to identify the perpetrator and hold him responsible. I commend the victim for her strength and courage throughout this process.”
A shout out to the Holland cops and DA’s office.
