A Cook County sheriff’s correctional officer has been charged with the 1997 rape of a child in suburban Harvey after a DNA test allegedly linked him to the crime, officials said Wednesday.
Robert Buchanan, 45, was in the Cook County Jail on a charge of predatory criminal sexual assault of a child. He was ordered held Wednesday in lieu of $200,000 bond.
The key to solving the case was a 2007 raid on the Harvey Police Department that was conducted by the Cook County state’s attorney’s office, the sheriff’s office and the Illinois State Police.
More than 200 untested “rape kits” — evidence collected in sexual assaults — were recovered.
In 1997, Buchanan was suspected of raping a 10-year-old girl in her home and was interviewed by Harvey detectives, but released without charges. A rape kit was taken from the victim — but it was not tested until it was recovered in the raid.
This year, investigators obtained DNA from Buchanan that matched DNA in the rape kit, said Sally Daly, a spokeswoman for Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez.
A total of 14 defendants have been charged based on evidence obtained from the rape kits seized from Harvey, Daly said.
“Clearly for victims of sexual assault, this has been an absolute debacle on the part of the Harvey Police Department,” she said.
Buchanan was a correctional officer at the time of the incident, but has been on duty-related disability leave since November 2010, said Steve Patterson, a spokesman for Sheriff Tom Dart. The alleged victim now lives out of state.
Harvey officials could not immediately be reached for comment.
