DNA samples could help keep serial rapists off the street

Law enforcement and prosecutors are hoping Washington will join other states that require people to give a DNA sample when they’re arrested for a serious crime.

“Currently, when a suspect is arrested, law enforcement get a photograph of the suspect, a fingerprint of the suspect, and sometimes a strip search,” says Pierce county prosecutor Mark Lindquist. “What this will do is add a cheek swab to the booking process.”

Lindquist says a simple cheek swab would have kept people like serial rapist Anthony Diaz off the streets.

“If we had had this law in effect back in 2005,” he says, “Diaz would have been arrested and charged and in prison where he belonged. Instead, because we did not have his DNA in the system, he went on to victimize 19 people. Several women were raped, including two underage girls who were raped in front of their mother.”

Charisa Nicholas wishes this bill had already been law: It was Diaz who broke into her home and forced her and two female roommates through an unspeakable nightmare.

“It wasn’t just a normal break-in or hostage, it was horrific horror that unfolded for hours that night. This particular man, Anthony Diaz, broke into our home and violated my roommates and myself. I was left helpless, tied up with cords around my neck, my hands and my feet, and [was] helpless as I watched a dear friend raped for hours.

I was unable to do anything.”

Nicholas says she tried to struggle, but it did no good. “In moments that I did try to fight back, I had a gun stuck to my head and I was not able to prevent it or stop it. I only could live through the horror and watch helplessly as my dear friends were violated.”

There’s only one way she’s been able to put the horror behind her and move forward. She’s says it’s her faith in God.
She forgave Diaz, telling him in court that the forgiveness wasn’t for him – it was to allow her to live out the life that God had given her.

Lindquist says DNA samples will be one of the best crime fighting tools they’ve ever had. “It will be like fingerprints were many years ago, but better because it’s difficult to get fingerprints from a crime scene. It is not difficult to get DNA from a crime scene. We leave DNA almost everywhere we go.”

Privacy and intrusion concerns have been raised by the ACLU and other organizations. But Lindquist says they’ve been careful to address those to withstand any court challenge.

“You know, that understanding of intrusion,” Nicholas says of privacy concerns, “I learned firsthand from Diaz as I sat down and tied up and unable to prevent my friend who was raped. That was incredibly intrusive.”

Nicholas has testified in Olympia about this and has been talking to as many state lawmakers as she can, trying to ensure passage of the bill.

“I’m alive today for testimony for others to believe that we can make a difference and we can help to prove that these horrific crimes take place.”