VAN NUYS : Parolee Pleads Guilty to Raping Woman

Despite the victim’s inability to identify him, a prison parolee pleaded guilty Wednesday to the rape of an 83-year-old woman after DNA tests linked him to the crime.

As a result of a plea bargain, Juan Molina, a 37-year-old Mexican national, will receive a 24-year prison term.

Molina admitted his crimes--forcible rape, robbery and having two previous felony convictions--as a Van Nuys Superior Court jury was set to hear opening statements in his trial.

Even though Molina’s elderly victim could not identify him as the man who attacked her in her North Hollywood home on May 6, 1992, DNA evidence and fingerprints found on a beer bottle on the property led police to him.

Police found Molina’s three fingerprints on the bottle, contacted Molina and took a sample of his blood. The tests established that genetic material from Molina’s blood and that collected from the victim when she was treated at a hospital were shared by only one in 9.5 million people. Because of the complicated and time-consuming testing, Molina was not arrested until 10 months after the rape.

The use of DNA, or deoxyribonucleic acid, is now generally accepted as evidence in courts. When scientists isolate a small amount of a person’s genetic makeup from skin, blood or other bodily fluids, they can compare it to genetic material from another source.

The DNA that is tested does not positively link a person to evidence from a crime scene, but it narrows the field of possible suspects.