PRESS RELEASE

For Immediate Release on October 13, 2005

Contact: William J. Smith (718) 556-7150
William.Smith@rcda.nyc.gov

D.A. Donovan: Ex-Con Arrested in 1999 S.I. “Stranger Rape” Through DNA Link
***Lee Calvin, 36, Charged With 2 Counts of Rape and 1 count of Unlawful Imprisonment for early-morning Rape in St. George Section of Borough***

STATEN ISLAND, NY - Richmond County District Attorney Daniel M. Donovan, Jr. today announced the arrest of Lee Calvin (DOB: 6/21/1969), of St. Mark’s Place, St. George, for the 1999 rape of a 15 year-old Staten Island girl. The defendant was linked to the crime by a match of DNA taken from the victim’s rape kit and matched to a sample of the defendant’s DNA on file in New York State’s DNA database.
At approximately 2:00 AM on April 29, 1999, the 15 year old victim was forced, after being punched and dragged, as well as under the threat of violence, from a sidewalk in the vicinity of Bay Street and Victory Boulevard, to a boardinghouse at 122 Central Avenue. While in the boardinghouse the defendant forcibly removed the girl’s clothing and forced her to engage in sexual intercourse.
“Thanks to the work of dedicated law enforcement personnel and the advances in DNA technology, this career criminal will now face justice for a violent rape he committed over six years ago,” stated District Attorney Donovan in announcing the arrest. “As long as the statute of limitations allows, the passage of time will never be a safe harbor from prosecution in this community for those who commit these types of heinous crimes.”
Calvin was placed under arrest this morning in St. George by members of the NYPD’s warrant squad under a bench warrant issued last month for failure to pay a $370 fine on a marijuana possession conviction. He was transported to the office of the Richmond County District Attorney where he was arrested by Detective Investigators from Donovan’s office on charges related to the 1999 rape.
Calvin is charged with Rape in the First Degree, a class B felony, Rape in the Third Degree, a class E felony, and Unlawful Imprisonment, a class E felony. The defendant faces a maximum of 25 years to life in prison if convicted. He is scheduled to be arraigned Friday at Staten Island Criminal Court, 67 Targee Street.
Calvin is the third individual to be charged with rape via DNA evidence in Staten Island under District Attorney Donovan’s administration. In September 2004, Joseph Pellegrino was arrested for a 1994 rape in the Clifton section of the borough, and in April of this year, Victor Cruz was arrested for a 1995 rape in Graniteville. Both defendants, whose cases are currently pending, had their DNA indicted as part of the City of New York’s “John Doe Indictment Project” and were later matched to samples in the state’s database.
The case will be prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Santosh Madahar of the Sex Crimes/Special Victims Bureau, working under the supervision of Assistant District Attorney Yolanda L. Rudich, Bureau Chief. The investigation was conducted by the District Attorney’s Detective Investigators Gary Mercer and Margaret Eng- Wallace.
The public is reminded that the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

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