Durham police charge man with rape and kidnapping reported nearly 33 years ago
Nearly 33 years after a woman told police that a man kidnapped and sexually assaulted her, Durham police have charged a man with rape.
Samuel Harris, 56, was arrested last week on two counts of first-degree rape and three counts of first-degree sex offense, the Durham Police Department reported in a news release Thursday.
Police said his DNA matched evidence collected in a rape kit from August 1, 1990.
The victim reported that a man had gotten into her car near the intersection of Morris and West Corporation streets downtown, forced her to drive around Durham and sexually assaulted her multiple times, according to the release.
Attempted rape conviction
This isn’t Harris’ first arrest on sexual-assault charges or the first time he’s been accused of kidnapping.
On March 27, 1992, he was convicted of second-degree kidnapping and attempted second-degree rape for a Durham case from 1991. He was released from prison in 1998, according to records from the N.C. Department of Adult Correction.
Harris is now being held in the Durham County Jail under a $100,000 secured bail.
The rape kit was processed through the National Sexual Assault Kit Initiative, which tests kits that were never submitted to a crime lab.
Reported rapes up in Durham
As of June 3, there have been 75 reported forcible rapes in Durham this year, a 27% increase from the same period in 2022.
Durham Police Chief Patrice Andrews said the increase is partly due to people reporting rapes that happened several years ago.
The Durham Police Unit asks anyone with information about ongoing rape cases to call Investigator H. Brown at 919-560-4440 ext. 29461 or to call CrimeStoppers at 919 683-1200.
