{"id":1830,"date":"2026-05-28T06:34:07","date_gmt":"2026-05-28T06:34:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/?p=1830"},"modified":"2026-05-28T06:34:07","modified_gmt":"2026-05-28T06:34:07","slug":"palm-river-clair-mel-man-arrested-in-1998-pinellas-county-rape-cold-case","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/?p=1830","title":{"rendered":"Palm River-Clair Mel man arrested in 1998 Pinellas County rape cold case"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n article<\/span><\/div>

Courtesy: Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office<\/span> <\/p> <\/div><\/div> <\/div>

PALM RIVER-CLAIR MEL, Fla.<\/strong> – <\/span>A Palm River-Clair Mel man was arrested in connection to a 1998 cold case rape investigation after detectives used advanced DNA technology to identify the suspect nearly three decades later, according to the Pinellas County Sheriff\u2019s Office.<\/p>

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Suspect arrested in Pinellas County 1998 rape cold case\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>

Timeline:<\/p>

<\/div>

According to detectives, the case dates back to March 8, 1998, when a 20-year-old woman was out with friends at a club in Ybor City before leaving alone.<\/p>

Investigators say the victim was approached outside the club by two unknown men who offered her a ride home to Pinellas County.<\/p>

After one of the men was dropped off, detectives say the remaining suspect drove toward Pinellas County and parked in a wooded area on the north side of the Gandy Bridge.<\/p>

Victim sexually assaulted at gunpoint<\/strong><\/h2>

According to the sheriff\u2019s office, the victim tried to get out of the vehicle, but the suspect locked the doors and punched her in the face repeatedly.<\/p>

Detectives say the suspect then raped the victim while threatening her with a firearm.<\/p>

Investigators say the suspect hit the victim several more times, threatened to kill her if she contacted law enforcement and forced her out of the vehicle before driving away toward Tampa.<\/p>

The victim was able to run for help and flagged down a passerby, who took her to a nearby business to call 911.<\/p>

Deputies responded to the scene, and the victim was taken to a hospital because of the severity of her injuries.<\/p>

DNA evidence preserved for decades<\/strong><\/h2>

What we know:<\/p>

Following the assault, detectives collected DNA evidence during a Sexual Assault Victim Examination (SAVE).<\/p>

According to investigators, the DNA profile was submitted to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and uploaded into state and national databases, but there were no matches identified at the time.<\/p>

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Years later, the case was revisited through FDLE\u2019s new genetic genealogy initiative in 2018.<\/p>

FDLE accepted the cold case for genealogy mapping in 2019. The testing allowed investigators to work backward through identified family connections with hopes of identifying the unknown suspect.<\/p>

Genetic genealogy led detectives to suspect<\/strong><\/h2>

Dig deeper:<\/p>

In September 2021, FDLE provided detectives with three names connected to the suspect\u2019s family tree.<\/p>

Detectives continued following leads over the next several years before FDLE\u2019s Genetic Genealogy Team uncovered more information in April 2026 that ultimately led investigators to Lester Austin III, 53.<\/p>

Using additional investigative techniques, detectives confirmed Austin as the suspect in the case.<\/p>

Suspect taken into custody\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>

Investigators say 53-year-old Lester Austin III was taken into custody Tuesday by the U.S. Marshals Task Force and booked into the Pinellas County Jail on two counts of armed sexual battery.<\/p>

On Tuesday, investigators say the U.S. Marshals Task Force located Austin at his home on South 74th Street in Palm River-Clair Mel and arrested him.<\/p>

Austin is now being held in the Pinellas County Jail on two counts of armed sexual battery.<\/p>

What we don’t know:<\/p>

The victim has not been named at this time. It remains unknown if Austin is being investigated for any similar unsolved attacks across the region during the late 1990s.<\/p>

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A Palm River-Clair Mel man was arrested in connection to a 1998 cold case rape investigation after detectives used advanced DNA technology to identify the suspect nearly three decades later, according to the Pinellas County Sheriff\u2019s Office.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1828,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,3,9],"tags":[8,4,11],"class_list":["post-1830","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-crime-and-public-safety","category-hillsborough-county","category-pinellas-county","tag-crime-and-public-safety","tag-hillsborough-county","tag-pinellas-county"],"yoast_head":"\nPalm River-Clair Mel man arrested in 1998 Pinellas County rape cold case - Tampa moving journal<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/?p=1830\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Palm River-Clair Mel man arrested in 1998 Pinellas County rape cold case - 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