Durham man pleads guilty to 2010 rape
A Durham man plead guilty to raping a woman in 2010 on Meriwether Drive.
A woman was walking down the street when a man grabbed her from behind, threatened her and dragged her off the sidewalk before raping her. The man pulled a sweatshirt over her face during the attack, so she wasn't able to see her attacker.
The woman had a rape kit done that was sent off for testing. But Durham Police investigators lost touch with her, so charges were never filed.
Finally, in Sept. 2020, cold case sexual assault investigators found the victim and were able to press charges.
James Randall Harris Jr., 45, from Durham, pleaded guilty to second-degree rape.
Harris was previously convicted for raping a 26-year-old in 2001. He was released from prison in 2004 and is already on the sex offender registry.
The unit that worked with the 2010 victim is supported by a National Sexual Assault Kit grant. The Durham Police Department received the grant in 2019. Since then, the county has been able to charge 13 people in sexual assaults dating back to 1984. Harris is the first man to be convicted under the new initiative.
"Today's outcome is an example of why focusing on the most serious and violent offenses is the best use of resources in the criminal legal system,”said Durham County District Attorney Satana Deberry.
Harris was sentenced to a minimum of 8 and half years in prison. A judge also ordered Harris to not have any contact with the victim.
"I hope this sends a message to all survivors of sexual assault in our community that together we are taking these cases extremely seriously," Deberry said.
