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Desert News
November 27, 2013
The state’s high court upheld a 2009 conviction stemming from a sexual assault in 1996, finding that the prosecution fell within the statute of limitations.
Donald Eugene Younge Jr. appealed his conviction on two counts of aggravated sexual assault, a first-degree felony, and robbery, a second-degree felony, to the Utah Supreme Court. He argued that the state’s prosecution fell outside the statute of limitations and violated his right to a speedy trial.
Prosecutors initially filed charges in the case against “John Doe,” based on a DNA profile. Younge’s name was added to the charge once he was identified. In a ruling handed down Friday, Associate Chief Justice Ronald Nehring found that the charges filed against Younge were valid.
Nehring, backed by the other four justices, also found Younge’s speedy trial rights were not violated despite “an extraordinary delay,” because the delay was beyond the state’s control and did not prejudice the case.
The charges stemmed from the November 1996 attack and sexual assault of a University of Utah student who was accosted while walking home from school. A DNA profile was created following a rape examination and added to a DNA indexing system.
Four years later, as the evidence approached the statute of limitations, charges were filed against “John Doe, an unknown male,” detailing the crime and identifying the defendant through the DNA evidence, the ruling states.
Donald Eugene Younge was convicted of beating, robbing and raping a University of Utah student 13 years ago. She awakened naked in a nearby alley, where the man forced her to perform oral sex and then raped her.
In 2002, Younge — who was in jail for investigation of murder in Illinois — was identified as a match for the DNA. Further blood tests confirmed the match and amended charges naming Younge were filed.
