CLEBURNE, Texas - News 8 has learned that a second round of DNA testing has linked a North Texas newspaper deliveryman to the kidnapping and sexual assault of a 13-year-old girl 10 years ago.
Police say they can now take the case to the Johnson County district attorney for an indictment.
But, that evidence was with the FBI for four years before it was processe. It's far from an isolated case, and the FBI is scrambling to solve the problem.
Early on a September morning in 1999, a 13-year old Cleburne girl walked down her neighborhood sidewalk on her way to catch the school bus. Police say that was when a man jumped out of a van, pulled her inside and then sexually assaulted her.
The predator dumped his young victim near a remote cemetery about 15 miles from town. A woman on her way to work found her and took her to a hospital, where DNA evidence was immediately collected. The evidence was entered into an FBI database, but no matches hit.
Ten years later, just weeks ago, the FBI processed a blood sample from a former drug offender who had served a brief sentence in federal prison.
After the DNA profile was loaded into the database, it took less than one week to identify 53-year-old Dennis Ray Griffith as the attacker. Officers immediately arrested him in Bosque County.
The break astonished Cleburne Police Chief Terry Powell.
"I don't mind telling you, I was a happy man," he said. "This victim has deserved justice for a long time."
But, then came the astonishing revelation that the FBI had actually had Griffith's DNA for more than four years before analyzing it. The FBI said the blood sample was drawn in May of 2005.
"We were so elated with the news and then we step back and think, 'Maybe we could have done this four years earlier,'" Powell said.
"That's huge," said Tammy King, who runs the Children's Advocacy Center in Cleburne. The center helps young victims of sexual and physical abuse.
"If in that four-and-a-half years we found there had been other victims, you would have to ask,' That was so needless. Why did that have to happen? Why couldn't we get it quicker?'" she said.
The FBI said the evidence simply got buried in an avalanche of DNA samples that began piling up in 2004. That's when Congress passed a law requiring DNA profiles on all felons, even though the FBI didn't have the resources to analyze such a large amount of genetic evidence.
Griffith's DNA became one of nearly 25,000 samples waiting to be processed.
The FBI said that backlog has now grown tenfold to 286,000. This year, the FBI launched a new automated system to reduce the backlog. A spokeswoman said the lab in Virginia can process 30,000 samples in one month. The bureau's goal is to expand capacity even more and cut the turnaround time from several years down to just 30 days.
"They're as frustrated as anyone else," Powell said. "Hopefully, it will get better."
Powell said he's grateful for the FBI's help. He praised the bureau for its quick action after the match was made. He's even more grateful that despite all the years Griffith remained free, no more victims have been linked to him.
Powell said the victim, now 23, was initially frustrated by the delay, but is not angry with the FBI. He said she is just waiting for her chance to face the suspect in court.
E-mail jdouglas@wfaa.com
