# DNA testing of violent sex offenders - screened against which 'old' crimes? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 19, 2011, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dna-testing-of-violent-sex-offenders-screened-against-which-old-crimes/586047 "2011-06-19T17:31:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 2\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2011, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dna-testing-of-violent-sex-offenders-screened-against-which-old-crimes/586047/1 "2011-06-19T17:31:05Z")
In today’s New York Times there’s a review of [a new book](http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/19/books/review/book-review-the-central-park-five-by-sarah-burns.html?pagewanted=1&src=recg) about the notorious ‘Central Park Jogger’ attack. That made me curious and a few links later I found [this rather exhaustive report on the incident attack and subsequent trial](http://www.arlindo-correia.com/JoggerReportfinal.pdf) (pdf). Among other things, it details the role of the confessed murderer/rapist - [Matias Reyes](http://www.villagevoice.com/2002-11-19/news/a-journey-through-the-tangled-case-of-the-central-park-jogger/) - vis a vis the role of the five teens originally convicted of the crime. In particular, about twelve years after the event, Reyes confessed to the crime and, lo and behold, his DNA was _then_ matched to a sample of previously unidentified DNA found at the crime scene. As is evident from the report linked to above, it is still not clear exactly what the respective roles of Reyes and the five boys were in this infamous crime. That being said, had Reyes’ DNA been linked to the crime earlier, before his confession, such persisting uncertainty may have been avoided altogether. At the very least, the situation would be clearer (since in the absence of a confession by Reyes, the reason for his motivation to have done so is no longer an issue). My question, then, is why, when Reyes was convicted of his earlier violent sexual assaults, his DNA was not at _that_ time run through ‘the’ data base of DNA found at the scene of unsolved sex crimes? Is it because the case was considered solved even though DNA had been found at the crime scene for which no identification had been made (the DNA sample, by the way, having been found in _semen_ on a piece of the victim’s clothing, clearly indicating that it came from one of the victim’s assailants). Why, at the time of his _earlier_ convictions, was Reyes’ DNA not tested against the Central Park sample? Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2011, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dna-testing-of-violent-sex-offenders-screened-against-which-old-crimes/586047/2 "2011-06-20T17:24:03Z")
One little bump.