Rapist identified at first just by his DNA gets 30 years

Doward Forbes, 45, was sentenced to 30 years in prison today after admitting he broke into a Back Bay apartment in 1992 and raped its 21-year-old occupant.

The statute of limitations was about to run out in 2007 when the Suffolk County District Attorney's office indicted "John Doe," identified only by DNA recovered from the scene. The indictment stopped the clock ticking.

Forbes was linked to the DNA in 2008 when he was returned to Massachusetts for parole violations - in attempted rape cases in the western part of the state - and had to give a DNA sample.

The state Supreme Judicial Court approved such indictments last year in a case involving another Boston rapist, who also pleaded guilty to rape earlier this year.

In court, Forbes's victim pleaded to have Forbes locked away for good:

Nineteen years have passed and my physical scars have faded but the emotional damage remains for life. I was a young woman, 21 years old and ready to conquer the world. I was excited about spending the first night in my first apartment. Then, I experienced every woman’s worst nightmare ... My pain is the pain of all women who have been violated. On behalf of them and myself, finally, I stand up today to speak out against rape, the utmost act of hatred. I implore you, Your Honor, to ensure this will not happen again, at least under the wrath of this dangerous sexual predator ... He should not be free to walk the streets again.