MARTINSBURG, WV (LOOTPRESS) – A 26-year-old sexual assault case has been brought to justice with the conviction of Kenneth Rickard Sr., 62, of Martinsburg.
A jury found Rickard guilty of second-degree sexual assault and burglary following a two-day trial in Berkeley County Circuit Court last week.
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The case, dating back to September 1998, was reopened after advances in DNA technology provided a crucial breakthrough.
In 2019, Captain Brendan Hall of the Berkeley County Sheriff’s Department was contacted by the West Virginia State Police forensic lab regarding a DNA match from the 1998 case.
The DNA was linked to Rickard, a convicted offender, prompting Captain Hall to locate and interview both the victim and Rickard.
Despite Rickard’s denial of the crime, a court-ordered DNA test confirmed the match.
The 1998 assault occurred in Bunker Hill, where an unknown assailant forced entry into a residence and sexually assaulted the victim.
The initial investigation was led by Deputy R.W. Nelson and Cpl. G.J. Scappini, both of whom testified during the trial.
Rickard’s conviction marks a milestone in West Virginia, as it is believed to be the first resulting from evidence testing funded by the Sexual Assault Kit Initiative (SAKI) grant.
The grant enabled the retesting of sexual assault evidence, ultimately leading to Rickard’s identification and prosecution.
Sentencing is scheduled for January.
