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   From: february2025@jail.time   
      
   ATLANTA — After analyzing data from cold case rape kits, the Fulton County   
   District Attorney's Office says they have been able to tie a previously   
   unsolved March 2000 rape of a Spelman College student to a convicted serial   
   rapist.   
      
   After analyzing cold case rape unit data, the DA's office says 38-year-old   
   Cleophus Ward has been indicted.   
      
   According to Chris Hopper of the district attorney's office, Ward's sexual   
   assaults date back to March 7, 2000.   
      
   On that date, one of his victims was a 19-year-old student at Spelman College.   
   She left campus that day, walking toward West End Mall, ultimately destined   
   for the West End MARTA station.   
      
   As she walked down the street, according to the district attorney's office   
   narrative, the victim was approached by Ward, who was driving a dark-colored   
   vehicle. The victim, mistakenly believing that Ward was a friend from   
   Morehouse College, got into the    
   car after Ward asked her if she needed a ride.   
      
   Once she got into the car, she realized she did not know Ward and demanded to   
   be let out. Ward just continued driving, a release from the D.A.'s office said.   
   Ward drove to a cul-de-sac and forced himself upon the victim, raping her.   
      
   Afterward, he continued to drive, and eventually let her out of the car before   
   driving away.   
      
   According to the district attorney's office, on the following day, March 8,   
   2000, the victim went to Grady Memorial Hospital in downtown Atlanta and   
   underwent a rape examination. A sexual assault kit was taken as part of the   
   examination. The D.A.'s    
   office said that the victim's sexual assault kit was not received by the   
   Georgia Bureau of Investigation until November 10, 2015.   
      
   https://media.11alive.com/assets/WXIA/images/198fd908-25de-47e1-   
   031-7fd74bb9c2b5/198fd908-25de-47e1-8031-7fd74bb9c2b5_1920x1080.jpg   
      
   Credit: Fulton County Sheriff's Office   
   A Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) match to Cleophus Ward was identified on   
   June 22, 2018. In July, 2019, the Fulton County D.A.'s Office conducted an   
   interview with the victim in preparation for an indictment of Ward.   
      
   The indictment in that case finally came on August 20, 2019.   
      
   "The survivor, in this case, is an extraordinarily strong woman who believed   
   that justice would never come," said senior assistant district attorney   
   Julianna Peterson with the Fulton County District Attorney's Office Sexual   
   Assault Kit Initiative. "   
   However, this indictment is an incredible relief to her and her family as the   
   Fulton County District Attorney's Office continues to seek justice on her   
   behalf."   
      
   The D.A.'s office was able to determine that following the March 2000 rape,   
   Ward either raped or attempted to rape four more women during a two month   
   period in 2002.   
      
   https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EFt0dt-WsAE5tUj?format=png&name=240x240   
      
   His usual mode of operation, according to the district attorney's office, was   
   that he would target female victims who were walking or standing along the   
   street, offering them a ride in his vehicle in an attempt to abduct and then   
   rape the women.   
      
   Ward has an extensive criminal history demonstrated by the timeline of his   
   activities since the March 2000 rape. In September 2004, Ward was sentenced   
   for multiple charges connected to the four 2002 incidents and went to state   
   prison for the next 15    
   years.   
      
   After his release in 2017, a subsequent arrest and indictment led to a   
   separate set of charges and new round of incarceration following a guilty plea   
   in July, 2019. Ward is currently in state custody.   
      
   March 7, 2000: Ward kidnapped and raped a 19-year-old Spelman College student   
   inside his vehicle.   
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
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