CHARLESTOWN, Ind. (WDRB) -- A Charlestown, Indiana, detective was overcome with emotion Friday while discussing the recent arrest of a man charged with raping a young girl and shooting a man in the head more than 20 years ago. 

The case started in April 2003, when a 13-year-old girl was sexually assaulted in her bedroom, and a man was shot in the head as he came to her aid. After a few wrongful arrests, the case went cold. Then in 2020 the victim's mom returned to the police station to ask them to look into it again because she told police she thought a recent shooting could be connected with the 2003 incident.

DNA evidence led to the arrest 52-year-old David Hollowell of Charlestown, Indiana, on July 21. The family would not have been able to afford the cost of the DNA testing without help from an organization called Season of Justice.

The victim told investigators she was sleeping in her bedroom at her home when she woke up to find a man with a gun wearing a ski mask touching her. She said he then tore her clothes off and raped her. A relative in the home heard the commotion and burst into the room. That's when the Hollowell allegedly shot him before running away. According to court documents, that man suffered a traumatic brain injury from the shooting, and is now permanently disabled.

"It was emotional, but it was also rewarding, seeing the smile on that young lady's face when we got to tell her," Charlestown Detective Jason Broady said during a news conference on July 28. "And I drove to her house the night we arrested Mr. Hollowell and told her in person. That was a very rewarding feeling, but it's not rewarding for me. I'm happy that we were able to bring that to her. She's ecstatic."

Hollowell's attorneys tried to get DNA evidence that linked Hollowell to the crime thrown out, saying the search warrant was illegal because investigators obtained his DNA without his knowledge during a traffic stop, when they pulled it from his driver's license. DNA was also lifted from a door handle at Hollowell's employer. Chief Public Defender Mickey Weber argued Thursday that investigators needed a warrant for the DNA. 

The judge disagreed and refused to exclude the DNA evidence during a hearing on July 27. 

Hollowell is charged with attempted murder, rape, child molesting and burglary. He remains in custody at the Clark County Jail in Jeffersonville on a $250,000 cash bond. His next court appearance is scheduled for Aug. 22. 

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