Navajo Man Sentenced for 2005 Sexual Assault After “Cold Hit” DNA Match

PHOENIX—On March 5, 2012, Eugene Clark, 26, of Chinle, Arizona, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Frederick J. Martone to 262 months in the Bureau of Prisons. Clark had previously pleaded guilty to aggravated sexual abuse.

According to Clark’s plea agreement, in January 2005, he broke into the home of a lay pastor in Chinle, Arizona. After breaking into the home, Clark beat the victim in the head with a hammer, threatened that she would not live if she said anything, and sexually assaulted her. As a result of the assault, the victim suffered a depressed skull fracture and intracranial damage, which resulted in her hospitalization. A sexual assault exam revealed the presence of semen.

In September 2010, the Arizona Department of Public Safety Northern Arizona Crime Laboratory ran their cold cases, which included this one, through the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS), which includes samples from convicted felons. The DNA sample from the sexual assault examination matched Clark, who had previously been convicted of felon in possession of a firearm in the federal District Court of Arizona. Following the match, the Federal Bureau of Investigation obtained confirming DNA samples from Clark.

The investigation in this case was conducted by the Navajo Department of Law Enforcement and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The prosecution was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Dyanne C. Greer, Arizona, Phoenix.