DNA bank helps police nab suspect in sex assault

A suspect in a Windsor sexual-assault case has been arrested three years after the crime thanks to a recent DNA hit.

Though DNA was found following the Sept. 28, 2014, assault, there was no match in the databank at the time.

But after a man was convicted May 16 of a break and enter, his DNA was entered into the national databank for comparison. Windsor Police heard last week from the databank that the man’s DNA also matched that found in the 2014 sexual assault.

The sexual assault occurred around 6:25 a.m. Sept. 28, 2014, in the 900 bock of California Avenue.

Two victims, in their early- to mid-20s, said they were sexually assaulted while sleeping by an unknown man who had broken into their home.

He subsequently fled after waking one of the victims, who confronted him. A television set was also missing at the home and a rear window was open with the screen removed.

Police arrested the suspect Monday in connection to the 2014 incident.

Nidal Hamade, a 39-year-old Windsor man, is charged with two counts of sexual assault and break and enter.

Hamade was released on bail Wednesday on the charges, said his lawyer, Robert DiPietro.

Hamade is currently serving a 12-month sentence of house arrest in connection with a pair of 2015 arsons.

He pleaded guilty to being an accessory to arson after the fact and failing to provide assistance in relation to the life or safety of another person after fires at the Original Pizza Brothers on Wyandotte Street East in October 2015, and at Rack n Roll Bar and Grill on Forest Glade Drive in June 2015.

Hamade’s accomplice, Eric Bilek, 23, was badly burned when he set off an explosion in the pizzeria. Bilek confessed to both fires and agreed to testify if Hamade went to trial.

Bilek was sentenced Monday to 18 months on house arrest, followed by probation.