An illegal immigrant has been linked to a series of rapes in New York–but the federal government is unable to charge him, because his crimes happened too long ago.
Ronald Clare Greenland, 54, was linked to several rapes, dating back to the 1990s–after authorities collected his DNA for an unrelated crime last year.
Greenland first snuck into the United States illegally from his home country of Jamaica in the 1980s.
After serving multiple stints in prison–after committing a series of depraved crimes including car theft, arson, and assaulting a police officer–Immigration and Customs Enforcement finally deported him in 2009.
But at some point after 2009, Greenland returned to the United States. He was, eventually, deported a second time in 2015.
Somehow, Greenland was able to sneak back into the country a third time–where he continued his crime spree.
This past November, Greenland was arrested after cops spotted him breaking into a car dealership and attempting to pry the rims off a car in the lot.
Officers chased Greenland from the car dealership–and, when cornered, Greenland pulled out a knife and stabbed Police Officer David Sanchez multiple times in the chest.
Despite the extensive attack, Sanchez survived–but only because he was wearing a police-issue Kevlar vest.
After Sanchez’s stabbing, Greenland was swabbed for DNA. When authorities ran his DNA through their system, they discovered the shocking revelation: that Greenland’s DNA had been collected as evidence off a number of rape victims in the 1990s.
Horrifically, despite clear DNA evidence and a violent criminal in custody, the government is unable to charge Greenland for being a serial rapist. When the rapes were committed in the 1990s, the statute of limitations on sex crimes was only 5 years–which has long since expired.
However, authorities are still confident they can throw Greenland behind bars for another crime: the attempted murder of Officer David Sanchez.
“We’ve got him on attempted murder, so he’s looking at 25 years to life on that alone,” said Westchester County’s Deputy District Attorney, Paul Noto. “Chances are, he’ll die in prison.”
