Detectives with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department’s Sexual Assault Cold Case Unit have arrested Roger Dale Honeycutt for a rape which he committed in 1981.On February 21, 1981, Honeycutt entered the female victim’s home in the 2500 block of Eastway Drive through the front or sliding glass door in the living room. The victim, who was five months pregnant, had fallen asleep on a sofa in her living room. Her husband and young daughter were asleep upstairs.
The victim was awakened by a man who had straddled her body, and grabbed her face. He told her that if she didn’t scream, he wouldn’t hurt her. The suspect forced the victim to submit to multiple sex acts while asking her if she was pregnant. She acknowledged that she was five months pregnant.
After the assault, the suspect rifled through the victim’s purse and her husband’s coat before leaving the home. The victim went to the hospital where a sexual assault kit was performed. The victim described her attacker as being a W/M, approx. 5’ 8” weighing approx. 120 lbs.
The sexual assault kit was examined by the Charlotte Police Department’s Crime Lab in March of 1981. The lab determined that the kit did contain evidence of the rape. Without a suspect to compare the evidence to, the case remained open.
In March of 2002 Det. T.A. Armstrong, of the Charlotte Mecklenburg Cold Case Unit, reopened the case. He submitted the DNA evidence to the CMPD Crime Lab for DNA testing. In June of 2006 the Crime Lab generated a report indicating that the DNA profile had been uploaded into the national CODIS database.
On August 31, 2010 a match was obtained from CODIS identifying Honeycutt as the suspect. He is a registered sex offender who had been arrested for Sexual Exploitation of a Minor in 2005. Honeycutt received a 5 year sentence but was released in 2008. His registration date in the offender file is November 25, 2008. Honeycutt was released from a federal prison on November 24, 2008.
On August 31, 2010 detectives with the Cold Case Unit, began searching for the victim in this case. She was located in another state. Detectives met with the victim and reviewed the case with her. As a result of this interview, combined with the physical evidence, warrants were obtained for the arrest of Roger Dale Honeycutt.
Mr. Honeycutt was arrested at his home in Kannapolis without incident on Monday, October 18, 2010. He’s been charged with: 2nd Degree Rape, 2nd Degree Sex Offense, and 1st Degree Burglary. Mr. Honeycutt is currently in the custody of the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office.
The CMPD Sexual Assault Cold Case Unit has investigated 661 cases since its inception in 2006 and has solved 98 cases. There have been 20 convictions resulting in total sentences of over 800 years.
The CMPD Sexual Assault Cold Case Unit would like to thank the Cabarrus County Sheriff’s Office, Federal Probation and Parole and especially the CMPD Crime Lab-DNA Section for their assistance with this case.