ASHEVILLE – A Black Mountain man pleaded guilty and was sentenced May 20 in Buncombe County Superior Court after updated forensic software linked his DNA to a 2018 rape involving a 15-year-old victim.
David Brandon Wilson, 33, pleaded guilty to second-degree forcible rape and was sentenced by Presiding Superior Court Judge Nathaniel Poovey to 48 to 118 months or at least four years in prison, according to a news release from the Attorney General’s Office. He was also ordered to register as a sex offender, have no contact with the victim for the rest of his life, complete a sex offender evaluation and follow all treatment recommendations.
Buncombe County sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to Lytle Cove Road Extension in reference to an assault on June 30, 2018. Investigators were told the victim was 15, according to the release. Wilson was 27 years old at the time.
Investigators “later determined that Wilson drove the victim in his truck, gave the victim alcoholic beverages purchased from an ABC liquor store and flavored malt beverages purchased from Ingles Markets, and engaged in vaginal intercourse without the victim’s consent” , the release said.
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Wilson demanded she keep the attack confidential, the release said, and the victim told police the attack occurred on or near Highway 9 in Black Mountain.
To defend herself, the victim scratched Wilson with her fingernails during the assault, the release said. Witnesses who saw scratches on Wilson’s arms at work after the incident gave statements to investigators.
Wilson was first arrested on July 13, 2018, and charged with indecent liberties with a child, statutory rape of a child and statutory sex offense with a child, according to his arrest report.
The Mountain Child Advocacy Center conducted a child medical examination, but initial DNA testing conducted in 2018 did not produce a match for the suspect. The samples were retested using the forensic software STRmix, which first became available in late 2020, and a convincing genetic match to Wilson was found.
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“I thank investigators for conducting a trauma-informed and collaborative investigation in collaboration with the Mountain Child Advocacy Center and am grateful that new technology has freed a courageous victim from testifying about personal and traumatic events at a public trial. I wish her peace and healing,” District Attorney Todd Williams said in the news release.
The victim was present and supported by her family at Wilson’s sentencing and spoke to the court about the impact of these events on her. She expressed her approval of the settlement, according to the release.
Ryley Ober is the Public Safety Reporter for Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA Today Network. Email her at rober@gannett.com and follow her on Twitter @ryleyober
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Black Mountain man pleads guilty to raping 15-year-old in 2018
