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CMPD Charges South Carolina Man In 1991 Sexual Assault Cold Case

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department
NICK DE LA CANAL
/
WFAE
CMPD announced Thursday that it has charged a 68-year-old man in connection with a 28-year-old cold case.

Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department announced Thursday that it has charged a 68-year-old South Carolina man in connection with a sexual assault cold case from 1991 thanks to DNA evidence.

Louis Brown has been charged with first degree burglary, attempted rape and attempted sex offense, CMPD said. The victim, then an 83-year-old woman who lived in east Charlotte, was assaulted at her home when she was sleeping.

Detective Darrell Price said the cold case unit confirmed a DNA match with Brown in early 2019 based off the 28-year-old evidence. Brown is currently in detention in Manning, South Carolina. He also faces charges for a different case in South Carolina from 2017, which involved sexual misconduct with a minor.

"I think most of us that have worked this crime, we know that people don’t do this one time,” Price said. “If you’re a rapist, you’re a serial rapist, most likely. They’ve done it numerous times. It’s just, how many times have they been caught?”

The victim in the cold case died in 2008. Detectives notified her family and said they have identified witnesses who can help authorities prosecute the case against Mr. Brown.

Michael Falero is a radio reporter, currently covering voting and the 2020 election. He previously covered environment and energy for WFAE. Before joining WFAE in 2019, Michael worked as a producer for a number of local news podcasts based in Charlotte and Boston. He's a graduate of the Transom Story Workshop intensive on Cape Cod and UNC Chapel Hill.