DNA tests clear rape suspect

DNA tests indicate the man believed to have been the "Green Valley rapist" wasn't.

DNA samples taken from victims of several Henderson rapes in the early 1990s did not match samples from Dennis Rabbitt, 44, who was arrested in New Mexico in March on 40 rape charges.

"The statue of limitations was up on the case, but we reopened it when Rabbitt was arrested in an attempt to help bring some closure to the victims," Henderson police Capt. Jutta Chambers said. "Obviously the DNA test has not allowed us to do that."

Six years ago, a series of rapes in Henderson generated widespread community fear. The "Green Valley rapist," as the suspect was dubbed, was linked to as many as seven rapes -- usually at automated teller machines -- from late 1991 through fall 1992.

Rabbitt, a construction worker who lived in Las Vegas in the early 1990s, is still facing charges in more than two dozen rapes in St. Louis dating to the late 1980s.

Even if Rabbitt had been linked to the Las Vegas rapes, he would not have faced charges because six years have passed since the last reported rape attributed to the "Green Valley rapist."

The law has since changed so that sexual assaults can be prosecuted at any time as long as they are reported within four years of the incident, but the new law cannot be applied retroactively.

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