JAMES CITY COUNTY — A DNA breakthrough has led to a man being indicted by a Williamsburg/James City County Grand Jury for numerous charges stemming from an abduction/rape case that occurred in 1987 in James City County.
On March 20, a Grand Jury indicted Richard Lee Gibson for Rape, Abduction with Intent to Defile, two counts of Inanimate Object Penetration, two counts of Sodomy, and Aggravated Sexual Battery for his involvement in the 1987 case, police said.
“The department has relentlessly pursued this case, and police encourage anyone who may have been victimized by Gibson to come forward and seek justice,” the department said.
According to James City County Police, on Dec. 10, 1987, an unknown assailant abducted an individual and committed various sexual offenses in a section of the Midlands Apartment Complex that was under construction. A suspect profile could not established at the time, and the case reached an impasse after all investigative leads were exhausted.
In February 2019, case documentation was reviewed and evidence was resubmitted to the Virginia Department of Forensic Services (DFS). In October 2019, the submitted DNA mixture profile produced no matches in the Virginia DNA Data Bank, prompting periodic searches against both the Virginia and National DNA Data Banks.
On Aug. 4 of last year, DFS contacted the James City County Police to report that the suspect’s DNA profile developed in the case matched the DNA profile of Gibson, which was found in the National DNA Data Bank. Gibson was incarcerated at the Virginia Peninsula Regional Jail for a 2022 sexual offense in the City of Williamsburg, when his DNA profile was entered into the DNA database and triggered the match.
Investigators then obtained and executed a search warrant for known DNA from Gibson and sent it to DFS for comparison. On Sept. 7, DFS confirmed the DNA match.
James City County Police served the indictments to Gibson at Virginia Peninsula Regional Jail on March 27, and his first court appearance is scheduled for April 1.
“The department hopes this arrest can bring solace and closure to the victim, their family, and loved ones. The department commends the work of our current detectives and former investigators and is grateful for the efforts of DFS that assist law enforcement in solving crimes,” police said.
