PASADENA, Texas – The man wanted in connection with a 1993 rape has been arrested and charged, according to authorities.
William Thomas Ward, 62, was reportedly tracked to his home in Smith Point in Chambers County by the Gulf Coast Violent Offenders Task Force where they, with the help of the Chambers County Sheriff’s Office, made the arrest.
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According to court records, Ward was accused of rape in 1993. According to court documents, the victim had just gotten back from a quick trip to the convenience store when she was approached by Ward.
Officials said he held a gun to the victim’s head and forced the then 38-year-old woman into his car and took her to a field where he raped her.
Afterward, the victim went to the hospital where staff members performed a sexual assault examination and collected evidence, which was picked up by an officer with the Pasadena Police Department, court records show.
Despite the accusations and evidence, a conviction never happened, and the case went cold until the evidence taken at the scene was retested in April 2021 and produced a hit on Ward, authorities said.
On Thursday, Ward surrendered to authorities peacefully and was booked into Chambers County Jail, where he will be held until he is picked up by authorities in Pasadena.