Cold case cracked: Hillsborough County deputies arrest man for 2004 Texas sexual assault

TAMPA, Fla. - A man suspected of sexually assaulting a Texas woman in 2004 has been arrested in Hillsborough County. 

According to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, in April 2023, the Texas Rangers and San Marcos Police Department asked the agency to get a DNA sample from 41-year-old Ricardo Rodriguez.

Officials say forensic genealogy indicated that Rodriguez's DNA profile contained a possible link found on the victim from a cold case in San Marcos, Texas.

"In the very beginning with DNA, we needed probably about a half dollar size amount," Peter Massey, a forensic science professor at Kaiser University said. "Now, we just need less than a pinhead. One cell is really all that's needed in today. Expanding all of that. You know, now we have genetic genealogy or forensic genealogy that relies strictly on DNA. So it's really just going to be the very beginning of solving our cold cases, I believe."

Ricardo Rodrigues mugshot courtesy of the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office. 

Detectives in HCSO's Special Victims Section say they got two DNA samples from Rodriguez that positively linked him to the DNA profile collected in 2004.

Deputies arrested Rodrigues on Monday and charged him with two counts of aggravated sexual assault. 

READ: Man killed in Seminole Heights home fire identified as partner of murder victim found dead in 2017

"The vigilance of both the San Marcos Police Department and the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office has exposed this predator, preventing him from hiding in the shadows any longer," said Sheriff Chad Chronister. "I hope the victim can begin healing knowing that the man who committed this gruesome crime is behind bars."

Deputies say the case is still being investigated.