NORFOLK, Va. — A Norfolk jury convicted a man in a 32-year-old rape case Wednesday.
Vernon Gay, 56, was found guilty of breaking into a woman’s apartment with a knife and sexually assaulting her back in 1992.
The jury deliberated for over an hour, working to determine if Gay broke into his accuser’s apartment and raped her. He claimed throughout the trial that they had a consensual relationship.
Gay took the stand, saying he was 24 at the time and the victim was one of a few women he was seeing. He claimed his biological mother lived next door, so he met the woman on one of his visits to the area. He said they had seen each other a few times before that evening, and that the door was unlocked.
Meanwhile, the victim testified Gay broke in through a window and assaulted her in her bed, while her child was in the room.
The victim and her family declined to comment after Wednesday's verdict.
Investigators tracked Gay down using DNA analysis of a rape kit collected decades ago. After matching Gay’s DNA to the crime scene, they had him swabbed again to determine if it was indeed a match.
This case is the state’s first trial under the Sexual Assault Kit Initiative (SAKI), which provides grant funding to test DNA kits, aiming to solve cold cases and reduce the backlog.
Attorney General Jason Miyares told 13News Now in a statement Wednesday, "Today's verdict brings much-needed solace and closure in this cold case, underscoring the unrelenting commitment of state and local law enforcement to secure justice, no matter how much time has passed. I'm gratified that our SAKI initiative helped fund this vital partnership and made this resolution possible."
A number of Gay's family members attended the trial and maintained his innocence throughout. His niece, Latasha Chon, said, "It’s an innocent man, why do you want to put an innocent man away?" She added, "He’s a very very good person, good father, good friend, good worker, good uncle good brother, good son. Why would you want to put him away like that?"
In an interview with 13News Now earlier this year, Commonwealth's Attorney Ramin Fatehi spoke about the SAKI program, saying, “People think that they can get away with crimes. They think that if time passes, somehow, they’re out of the woods" He added, “No matter how old the case, no matter how far in the past, if there’s a break, we will charge.”
Fatehi said there is no statute of limitations for felony cases in Virginia, meaning there’s no time limit for prosecutors to file charges, and that detective work and new technology played a big part in tracking down Gay.
However, investigators testified during the trial, some of the case's files had been purged because so much time had passed. The prosecution had to rely on Gay's DNA link to the scene and a 911 call recording of the victim from the incident.
During closing arguments, the prosecution called the crime a "horrific, heinous, despicable act," adding, "There's one person telling the truth today; there's one person lying to you."
Gay's sentencing is set for Dec. 20.