PINELLAS COUNTY, FL. — Detectives with the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office Cold Case Unit have arrested a suspect in a 1998 armed sexual battery case following advances in genetic genealogy.
The investigation began on March 8, 1998, when a 20-year-old woman reported she had been sexually battered after leaving a club in Ybor City. According to investigators, the victim accepted a ride from two unknown men. After one passenger was dropped off, the driver took the victim to a wooded area near the north side of the Gandy Bridge, where she was assaulted and threatened with a firearm.
The victim escaped and reported the incident to a passerby, who assisted her in contacting law enforcement. She was later transported to a hospital for treatment of her injuries.
DNA evidence collected during the investigation was submitted to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE), which developed a DNA profile of the suspect. Although no matches were initially found, the case was later accepted into FDLE’s genetic genealogy program.
In September 2021, FDLE provided investigators with leads generated through genealogy research. Additional information developed in April 2026 led detectives to identify 53-year-old Lester Austin III as the suspect.
On May 26, 2026, members of the U.S. Marshals Task Force located Austin at his residence and took him into custody. He was transported to the Pinellas County Jail and charged with two counts of Armed Sexual Battery.
The investigation remains ongoing.
SOURCE: PINELLAS COUNTY SHERRIF’S OFFICE
