France: Police use DNA to track down 'serial rapist'

A 40-year-old man has been arrested and charged for rapes and attempted sexual assaults on more than 30 women in a suburban Paris forest between 1995 and 2001. French police say DNA traces found on the victims matched that of the unnamed suspect.

The suspect, who is now married with children, has been accused of attacking the women in the Senart Forest, south of Paris near his then-home in Corbeil-Essonnes. Deputy prosecutor of Evry, Bertrand Daillie, said the man was identified when the DNA found on rape victims matched exactly with genetic material from one of the suspect's brothers listed in French criminal databases.

Police said the suspect was between 20 and 26 years of age when the attacks took place. He was described by many of his victims as a motorcycle man who assaulted them while still wearing his helmet. During questioning, the suspect didn't deny most of the facts but said he did not remember committing the assaults, Daillie said.

According to Daillie, the man could face up to 15 years in prison if found guilty. However, the trial is not expected to begin for another two years.

The serial rapes have been one of the biggest criminal mysteries in France. Most women targeted were either jogging or walking alone in the Senart Forest when they were attacked.