Gerardo Cruz
/ Courtesy: Colorado Springs Police Department
COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO. -- Colorado Springs Police officers have arrested a man who allegedly sexually assaulted a girl back in 2001 when she was just 14 years old.
According to officers, now 37-year-old Gerardo Cruz offered the girl a ride home in the area of Delta Drive and South Chelton Road on Aug. 20, 2001. He then took her to an isolated area near Hancock Expressway and South Academy Boulevard, where he threatened her with a knife and sexually assaulted her.
The girl escaped Cruz when a second car drove into the area. The girl ran to the second car and was taken to a safe area.
The girl was taken to Memorial Hospital Central where medical personnel gathered sexual assault evidence, but the preliminary investigation did not lead to a suspect.
In 2009, the case was assigned to the Cold Case Sexual Assault Unit. Two years later, additional evidence was collected, and the Colorado Bureau of Investigation determined there was a DNA match. Biological samples were taken from Cruz in November for final confirmation, and the CBI confirmed Cruz is the suspect.
Officers arrested him Monday for second degree kidnapping and sexual assault on a child.
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