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Coral Springs Sexual Battery Cold Case Arrest

FORT LAUDERDALE (CBSMiami) - A man has been arrested in connection with a Coral Springs cold case sexual battery that took place nearly a quarter-century ago.

Ruben Chavez, 55, appeared before a Broward judge on Tuesday, charged with the sexual battery of a helpless victim.

Detectives say on January 7th, 1996, the 17-year-old went to a bar with three other people and was drugged. The next morning, she woke up in a Coral Springs hotel room without her underwear and a used condom next to her.

She called her boyfriend for help and they contacted the police to report a sexual assault.

At the time, detectives were unable to connect DNA at the scene with anyone. The case was re-opened last April by the Coral Springs police department's Special Victims Unit. Several items from the 1996 investigation were sent to the Broward Sheriff's Office Crime Lab for processing using current technology.

In May, the crime lab reported that foreign DNA on the evidence they processed belonged to Chavez.

He was taken into custody in Boca Raton by the US Marshals Task Force. He's currently being held on a $150 thousand bond.

Chavez has prior arrests for possession of Hydromorphone, trafficking, possession of cocaine, possession of cannabis, and carrying a concealed weapon.

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