Calgary police have laid charges in connection with a 15-year-old sexual assault cold case, thanks to advances in DNA technology.
William James Brookshaw, of Fort St. John, B.C., has been charged with overcoming resistance by choking, sexual assault and break and enter.
On July 6, 1999, a woman told police she had been attacked in her home after momentarily leaving her baby on the back patio to step inside and grab a toy for the child.
She said she was confronted by a man in her kitchen, who physically and sexually assaulted her. She told police she tried to defend herself by attempting to stab the attacker with a pen.
The offender then left and the woman called police. Her baby, still on the back patio, was unharmed.
Police say they thoroughly investigated the case at the time, but it eventually went cold. In 2011, advances in DNA technology confirmed a match to a man living in British Columbia.
The case was reopened and on March 28, 2014 a Canada-wide warrant was issued for the suspect's arrest.
Brookshaw was arrested and returned to Calgary on Wednesday.
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