Man charged nearly 20 years after 17-year-old was raped in Louisville

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A man was charged nearly 20 years after a teenage girl was raped in Louisville.

Kentucky State Police said in a news release Wednesday that DNA evidence from the victim's sexual assault kit was entered into the state's Combined DNA Index System after the Jan. 11, 2005, rape, but no match was identified.

The victim — who was 17 years old at the time — was kidnapped, held at gunpoint and raped, police said.

Grant funding in July 2021 from the U.S. Department of Justice allowed KSP and Louisville Metro Police to do additional testing on DNA. According to KSP, 47-year-old Robrico English was identified as a match. English has now been charged with kidnapping and rape.

"Whether a crime was committed yesterday or 20 years ago, our Office stands committed to getting victims in our community justice," the Jefferson County Commonwealth's Attorney's Office said Thursday. "We applaud the hard work of the countless KSP troopers who never gave up and put in the time to make sure this victim will have her day in court."

English is currently serving a 12-year prison sentence stemming from a 2019 first-degree robbery conviction. Court records show he has several past convictions dating back to the 1990s. According to the Department of Corrections, in 1996, he was convicted of nine charges, including robbery, burglary, fleeing or evading police and more. He's spent the following stints in prison:

Dec. 9, 1996, to Feb. 21, 1997
April 11, 2001, to April 23, 2004
Feb. 11, 2005, to June 5, 2009
Jan. 22, 2010, to Dec. 5, 2017
Nov. 26, 2019, to present

He's scheduled for a pre-trial hearing on Dec. 11 on the new charges.

"KSP and our LMPD partners never gave up on seeking justice in this case," KSP SAKI Investigator Ben Wolcott said in a news release Thursday. "Today's announcement speaks to the unending commitment to deliver justice to victims of sexual assault, even if that justice happens decades after the crime occurred. Delayed justice is still justice served."

The DOJ awarded an additional $2.5 million to the state of Kentucky in October 2023, the second-largest amount the state has every received from the DOJ's Bureau of Justice Assistance.