A Columbus woman has taken her decades-old rape case back to court, this time targeting the police investigators she says left her 1994 report on the shelf for years. In a new federal lawsuit, filed under the pseudonym Jane Doe, she accuses the Columbus Division of Police, unidentified officers, and Franklin County of failing to properly investigate her allegations. The complaint comes on the heels of a judge’s decision tossing related criminal charges after finding long investigative delays.
According to The Columbus Dispatch, the suit was filed in U.S. District Court in Columbus on June 5, 2026, and claims the handling of her case violated her 14th Amendment right to equal protection by failing to properly investigate the report. The filing seeks damages and other relief, and proceeds under a pseudonym to protect the victim’s identity.
Case Background and How a Suspect Was Identified
The alleged assault occurred in July 1994. Investigators collected DNA evidence at the time, including material from a pillowcase, but the case remained unsolved for years. Prosecutors say they issued a “John Doe” indictment in 2013 to preserve the case while forensic technology advanced. In June 2024, investigators used genetic genealogy to identify a match and arrest Anthony Shinaul, according to a press release from the Franklin County Prosecutor’s Office.
Why the Criminal Case Was Dismissed
A Franklin County judge later dismissed the criminal charges, finding detectives had made only “minimal efforts” over decades and criticizing what the judge called a “set it and forget it” approach to the cold-case investigation, according to a report by The Columbus Dispatch. The judge concluded the long delay did not meet the legal standard of “reasonable diligence,” a ruling that effectively barred prosecutors from moving forward with the criminal case.
Legal Claims and Possible Remedies
The federal complaint argues that the city and county’s inaction denied the plaintiff equal protection under the 14th Amendment and asks a federal court for relief. Claims of this sort against state or local actors commonly invoke federal civil-rights law, most notably 42 U.S.C. § 1983, which allows individuals to sue government officials who, acting under color of state law, deprive people of constitutional rights.
The complaint is now pending in federal court. The docket will show whether defendants move to dismiss the case, attempt to return it to state court, or file formal answers to the allegations. As the case moves ahead, those filings and any official responses will outline the next legal steps for both the plaintiff and the government defendants.
