KEY LARGO, Fla. – DNA evidence led deputies in the Florida Keys to make an arrest in a nearly year-old rape case Thursday, according to the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office.
Justin Rand Birht, 33, of Key Largo, was arrested and charged with sexual battery in connection to the April 2022 case, the agency announced Friday.
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MCSO spokesperson Adam Linhardt said the victim, then 53, told deputies that an unknown man had sexually assaulted her in a wooded area in Key Largo, located near mile marker 105.5 on the Overseas Highway.
Deputies collected DNA during the investigation and were able to identify Birht as the suspect, Linhardt said.
Authorities later obtained an arrest warrant and booked him into jail Thursday.
He was set to be arraigned in Monroe County court on April 4.