Roger W. Reddick Jr., 41, of Cambridge, was charged with three counts of rape of a child with force, Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan announced on Thursday, March 30.  

The arrest is the work of the Cold Case Unit, which has targeted clearing a backlog of violent crimes using new technologies and procedures. 

“This case is every parent’s nightmare – a violent stranger entering your home in the middle of the night and assaulting your child in their bed," Ryan said in a press release. "... This case is a perfect example of that work, and I am grateful that we are able to begin the process of holding the defendant accountable for the events of that evening."

The assault happened in the early morning hours of Oct. 18, 2000. A man broke into a home in Cambridge and quietly climbed the stairs to get to the teen girl's bedroom while her parents slept. Before she could scream, the man rushed her and covered her mouth before he sexually assaulted her, Ryan said. 

He asked her age during the attack, and she told him 13. 

As soon as she could, the girl ran out of her bedroom and screamed for help. Her attacker bolted down the stairs and out the door. Police searched the area but couldn't find the suspect. 

Cambridge officers had little in the way of evidence to find out who the man was either. He'd left a fingerprint on a jewelry box and a pair of green checkered boxers behind. 

Investigators linked Reddick to the fingerprint in 2009, Ryan said, but it wasn't enough to tie him to the assault. 

But that changed last year. 

In September, the cold case unit retested the DNA left on the boxers using new scientific methods. Roger Reddick Jr. was a match. 

At the time of the attack, Reddick lived less than half a mile from the girl's home. 

Cambridge Police Commissioner Christine Elow said she hopes this arrest frightens criminals who have thus far been able to escape justice. 

"We will always be here for survivors," she said, "and will never give up trying to find and prosecute the people behind such horrendous acts.”

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