Serial Rapist Sentenced to 25 Years for 2001 Bronx Cold Case Solved with New DNA Technology

A serial rapist has been sentenced to 25 years in prison for a 2001 Bronx attack that was solved using a novel DNA matching method. The sentence, handed down Friday by Judge Laurence Busching, is to be served consecutively with a 20-year sentence the defendant is already serving for a separate 2000 Manhattan home invasion rape.

Jancys Santiago, 50, was found guilty by a Bronx jury in June of first-degree rape. He had bound and sexually assaulted Katy Vicchitto, then a 21-year-old college senior, in her Bronx apartment in December 2001 before fleeing to Florida, where he established a new life and family.

Vicchitto, who is now a married third-grade teacher and mother of three, provided impact testimony describing the lasting psychological effects of the assault. She stated that the attack has continuously occupied her thoughts and acts as a filter through which she experiences new events. She urged the judge to impose the maximum sentence on Santiago, who had been her upstairs neighbor.

Assistant District Attorney Gabrielle Martin-Klein characterized Santiago's flight to Florida as an escape from justice and told the court that he had subjected Vicchitto to "a life sentence of fear."

Santiago's 2001 Bronx attack was eerily similar to a previous assault he committed 19 months earlier. In that case, he ambushed a 27-year-old woman in her Midtown apartment, threatening her life, binding her with wire coat hangers, and raping her.

These cases remained cold for over two decades until the NYPD and prosecutors obtained a Department of Justice grant to employ investigative genetic genealogy. This technique involves uploading DNA from crime scenes to opt-in ancestry databases. By identifying users who appear to be distant relatives of the perpetrator, investigators can map out family trees, ultimately narrowing the search to the suspect's lineage.

Investigators identified Santiago as a suspect through this method. They subsequently collected a discarded water bottle, tested the DNA, and confirmed a match with evidence from both assaults.

Judge Busching commended Vicchitto's resilience before delivering the sentence, which also included a permanent order of protection and a sex offender registration order.

Santiago's defense attorney, Michael Croce, maintained his client's innocence and stated his intention to appeal. Croce argued that the prosecution's case relied solely on scientific evidence without eyewitness testimony and expressed concern about the potential unreliability of scientific testing methods.