Rape Cold Case Solved: Ohio Suspect Convicted

CLEVELAND — A rape cold case in Northeast Ohio has been solved after nearly a decade, the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor's office announced.

Basim Barnes, 35, this week, was convicted by a jury of raping two women on Cleveland's west side in 2007 and 2009. He was sentenced to 35 years in prison.

“We continue to hunt and hold accountable individuals who have sexually assaulted citizens in our community,” said Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael O’Malley. “I pray that these victims can now feel a bit of security knowing their assailant will remain behind bars.”

In October 2007, Barnes spotted a 27-year-old woman at a gas station, forced her into his car, drove her to an abandoned house on W. 44th Street and then held a knife on her while repeatedly raping her, court documents said. He threatened to kill the woman if she moved and then he ran away, court documents said.

The woman was found and taken to the hospital, where a sexual assault kit was collected.

In February 2009, a 19-year-old woman was walking down W. 32nd Street when Barnes offered her a ride. Court documents said he drove her to an alley near W. 45th Street, pointed a gun at her, threatened to kill her and then raped her. He stole her purse and then drove away, court documents noted.

The woman was later taken to a hospital and a sexual assault kit was again collected.

In 2013, the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor's office assembled the Sexual Assault Kit Task Force to pursue leads from previously untested rape kits. Both victims' kits were tested during this time and the DNA from both cases matched Barnes, court documents said.

A Cuyahoga County grand jury indicted Barnes for both rapes in June 2016. He was extradited from New Hampshire, where he was serving time in federal prison, in 2017.

During the proceedings, the Public Defender's office withdrew as counsel before Barnes fired multiple attorneys and then decided to represent himself at trial.

A Cuyahoga County jury returned a guilty verdict convicting him of the following charges:

• Five counts of rape
• Three counts of kidnapping
• One count of aggravated robbery
• One count of gross sexual imposition