Published: November 23, 2009 09:37 pm         

Man faces charge for 2004 rape, robbery

TERRE HAUTE — A Terre Haute man convicted of dealing drugs and robbery now will face charges in a 2004 rape and robbery after DNA evidence identified him as a suspect in the case.

Robert Lee Washington, 29, appeared in Vigo Superior Court 3 on Monday to face the class-B felony charges of rape and robbery for an Oct. 1, 2004, break-in and assault at a residence in the 600 block of South 14th Street.

Washington has been serving a prison sentence for a Marion County conviction of dealing cocaine in 2006. It was while he was incarcerated in the Marion County Jail in 2007 under the name of Rodney Johnson that a match for his DNA profile was connected to the 2004 assault, according to the probable cause affidavit filed in the rape case.

Washington also has been wanted since 2006 on a Vigo County warrant for violating probation from his 2005 conviction for robbery.

The penalty for a class-B felony conviction in the assault case is 6 to 20 years in prison and up to a $10,000 fine.