by Sinead Hawkins | Wednesday, May 26th 2021 | Original Source: https://www.foxbaltimore.com/news/local/man-convicted-of-second-degree-rape-after-sexually-assaulting-a-19-year-old
BALTIMORE (WBFF) - Baltimore County Circuit Court convicted a Damilola Animashaun, 33, from New York of second degree rape and false imprisonment for sexually assaulting a 19- year-old in Baltimore county.
On April 10, 2010, a nineteen-year-old woman was walking into her apartment on Old Court Road in Pikesville when she was grabbed from behind and pulled into the laundry room of the building and sexually assaulted by an individual not known to the victim.
“The victim was able to provide a composite of the attacker and to describe to the police and a Sexual Assault Forensic nurse where the assailant had contact with her. We were able to retrieve DNA samples from those areas,” according to Lisa Dever, Chief of the Sexual Offense and Child Abuse Division of the Baltimore County States Attorney’s Office and the prosecutor of the case.
The composite sketch was distributed throughout the area and to news outlets. The DNA retrieved from the examination of the victim was input into a nationwide database for comparison to known sex offenders.
Through that process, the police were able to identify Damilola Animashaun as the attacker who was by then serving a sentence for rape in New York State. Animashaun was extradited to Maryland to stand trial and convicted by Judge Judith Ensor.
States Attorney Scott Shellenberger stated: “I want to express my extreme gratitude to the victim of this horrible offense for her strength, the police for the excellent work in investigating and Lisa Dever for the successful prosecution of the case. In this collaborative process, we have succeeded in catching and convicting an individual clearly dangerous to the community.”
Sentencing will be before Judge Ensor in August after a presentence investigation is prepared.