DNA Leads to Prison Term for Pennsauken, NJ Sex Predator

DNA is an important tool for law enforcement.  It seems like every day we read of another person arrested for a crime based on DNA evidence.

DNA is the material in our body that carries all the information about us.  DNA or deoxyribonucleic acid is kind of like a personalized manual of our body.  It determines how we look and function.  We all have it in our bodies.

DNA is different in every person; no two people have the same DNA.  That is why it's such an effective tool for law enforcement.  It's relatively new to law enforcement, having only been used since 1994.

Police have once again used this powerful tool to identify and prosecute a Pennsauken man who committed a sex crime in 1997.

Rodolfo Vasquez, 63, pled guilty in 2019 to driving without a license in Cinnaminson.  At the time, Vasquez was required to submit a DNA sample that was then entered into the Justice Department's National DNA database.  Police were later notified that Vasquez's DNA matched DNA that was collected during a 1997 sexual assault.

Police secured a search warrant and collected more DNA which matched the crime scene DNA as well.

This past June, Rodolfo Vasquez entered into a plea agreement with the Prosecutor's Office and pled guilty to Aggravated Sexual Assault (First Degree).

According to a release from the Prosecutors,

"Rodolfo told the court when entering the plea that he went into a Camber Lane home in June 1997 without authorization and sexually assaulted a woman who was there by herself. The victim, whose name is being withheld by the Prosecutor’s Office, attempted to defend herself and was struck by Vasquez multiple times, resulting in permanent vision damage in one eye."

Vasquez was given an 8-year sentence that he'll serve at New Jersey State Prison.

Source: Man Sentenced to Prison for 1997 Mt. Laurel Sexual Assault – The Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office (burlpros.org)