Man arrested 10 years after allegedly kidnapping, raping woman, jury trial date set

St. Joseph County Jail: Keith Davis

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- A 36-year-old South Bend man was arrested on May 18 for a September 2016 arrest warrant regarding the alleged kidnapping and rape of a woman.

The suspect, Keith Davis, is charged with Rape, a Level 1 Felony, and Kidnapping while Armed with a Deadly Weapon, a Level 3 Felony.

Davis' jury trial is scheduled for July 28.

According to the probable cause affidavit in the case, on Aug. 24, 2015, officers with the South Bend Police Department responded to N. Bendix Street for a reported sexual assault.

The victim told police she was waiting outside for a friend at the McDonald's on S. Main Street when she said a muscular, black man pulled up beside her in a 1990's gold Buick.

The victim told police the man pointed a black, semi-automatic handgun at her and told her to get in the car. The victim said she feared for her life, so she got in. The victim said that's when the man drove down an alley where he then proceeded to assault her.

The victim said the man then told her to get out of the way of the vehicle before speeding away. The victim noted the man wiped his genitals off with disposable wet wipes, which he tossed into a nearby trash can.

The victim was taken to the St. Joseph County Medical Center for evaluation and treatment. A full rape examination was performed on the victim. The rape kit was collected and sent to the Indiana State Police Crime Lab, along with the wet wipes collected at the scene.

In December 2015, the DNA material analyzed was run through the CODIS system, which identified the suspect as Davis. Police say Indiana BMV records showed Davis owned a 1995 Buick. In a photo lineup, the victim identified Davis as the suspect.

On Dec. 29, 2015, an officer went to Davis' home in South Bend. Davis spoke with the officer outside the home and initially denied owning a Buick before admitting he owned one but had recently sold it.

A DNA buccal swab was collected from Davis as well. Davis agreed to speak with the investigators the following day.

During the interview with Davis, he stated he met the victim on meetme.com and picked her up that day before driving around and having sex in the alley. Davis told investigators he did wipe himself off with wet wipes at the scene.

Davis told police he probably threw the woman's phone out the window after he left her in the alley. Police say he did not explain why he did this. In another interview with the victim, she stated she'd been talking to people on meetme.com but hadn't agreed to meet Davis at any point.

Investigators say a search of meetme.com at the time failed to reveal accounts for the victim or Davis.

In August 2016, it was revealed to local law enforcement that the FBI and Calumet City Police Department in Illinois were investigating Davis for picking up women he met online before driving them to remote locations where he'd allegedly rape them. Calumet City police had just finished four investigations into four separate reports of alleged rape.

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