Peoria police have arrested 43-year-old Steven Paul Lipton in connection with a 2009 cold case involving the kidnapping and sexual assault of an 8-year-old girl. The arrest, which occurred on July 31, comes after recent DNA testing linked Lipton to the crime, ABC15 reported.
According to the Peoria Police Department, the incident occurred as the child was walking home from school. A man, pretending to be a police officer and a friend of the girl's mother, convinced her to get into his vehicle, and subsequently assaulted her. Though a sexual assault kit was tested at the time, resulting in no matches, grant money from the Maricopa County Attorney's Office Sexual Assault Kit Initiative allowed for retesting of the DNA recently, which led to identifying Lipton as a suspect,
The case, once cold for over a decade, reignited when the Department of Public Safety Laboratory reported a DNA match last month. "SAKI funds have been critical in pursuing justice for victims of cold case sex assaults," Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell explained in a statement obtained by 12 News.
As the authorities took Lipton into custody without incident, they are now considering the possibility that he might be connected to other unsolved cases. Due to the nature of his alleged crimes, detectives believe there may be additional victims or similar incidents that were never fully investigated or tested for DNA at the time. The Peoria Police Department is urging anyone with information to come forward, and has provided their tip line at 623-773-7045 for anyone who may have been a victim or has details regarding the incident.
