DNA match links Florida convict to 2016 DeKalb kidnapping, assault

DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. - A 42-year-old man was extradited to DeKalb County after a grand jury indicted him on charges of rape, aggravated sodomy and kidnapping in connection with a 2016 cold case.

What we know:

Julius Hunter was arrested in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on Aug. 13 after a DeKalb County Grand Jury indicted him on Aug. 11 for the assault of a 19-year-old woman, according to officials. 

Investigators transported Hunter to Georgia, where he is being held in the DeKalb County Jail without bond, authorities said. 

The case is assigned to DeKalb County Superior Court Judge Tangela Barrie for arraignment, which will determine when a trial date is set. 

The backstory:

On July 27, 2016, a teenager answered a Craigslist ad offering $300 for an overnight babysitting job, according to preliminary investigation details. 

The man who posted the ad ordered a ride-share vehicle that delivered her to an apartment complex near 700 Jolly Avenue in Clarkston. 

When she arrived, she saw two men but no children, and when she tried to leave, Hunter assaulted and raped her over several hours before releasing her the next day. 

The victim took a cab, asked the driver to call 911, met police at a gas station and went to a hospital for a sexual assault examination. 

What they're saying:

DeKalb County District Attorney's Office investigator Brandi Rogers emphasized that work never stops for the cold case team.

"She believed she was going to be paid 300 dollars in exchange for a babysitting service. 

The defendant in this case sent her a rideshare," Rogers said.

"When she entered the location she realized there were no children present. There were two black males present and when she tried to leave the location, one of the males stopped her and, after stopping her, he preceded to assault her for several hours," Rogers explained.

Rogers noted that Hunter's out-of-state arrest made all the difference in solving the case. 

"He was not arrested for any offense that would have put his dna into a system in Georgia. Florida has a different law for where if anyone is arrested for a federal offense, their DNA is put into a national database," Rogers said.

"We do have matches. We do have a police report. We have information to help in the investigation, but we have not been able to locate those victims and ask them to come forward now," Rogers added.

Dig deeper:

In 2017, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation confirmed male DNA was present in the victim's sexual assault kit, though it initially yielded no match in the national Combined DNA Index System. 

However, the GBI matched the DNA to an unidentified perpetrator in two other cold cases from DeKalb and Gwinnett counties from 2016 and 2017. 

Florida authorities later collected Hunter’s DNA following a 2021 felony sexual battery conviction, which led to a CODIS match across all three Georgia kits. Under Florida law, felony arrests trigger an automatic upload to the national database (CODIS), whereas Georgia law did not require a submission for his previous offenses. 

Authorities said the perpetrator lured victims using Craigslist ads for jobs including babysitting, modeling, dancing and massages. 

Some of those victims met the perpetrator at the same Jolly Avenue apartment complex in Clarkston. 

What we don't know:

Investigators have not yet connected with the victims in the two matching cold cases from DeKalb and Gwinnett counties. 

Officials also do not know if Hunter committed additional unknown assaults across the region. 

What you can do:

Anyone who believes they have information about Hunter or who may have been victimized by him is urged to call the DeKalb County District Attorney’s Tip Line at 404-371-2444. 

The investigation involves the Georgia Sexual Assault Kit Initiative Task Force, a multi-agency team formed in 2018 that includes prosecutors, investigators and victim advocates working alongside the GBI Crime Lab. 

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