Lake man charged in 2015 sex assault, Eustis police say

A DNA match led Eustis police to issue an arrest warrant Wednesday for a man accused of sexually assaulting an elderly woman more than two years ago, officials said Thursday.

Donte Tyrone McCain, 37 — who is serving time at Lancaster Correctional Institution in Trenton for unrelated crimes — is now facing charges of occupied residential burglary and sexual battery.

According to police records, officials responded to a 911 call on the morning of April 23, 2015, from a woman who said she was sleeping on her living room couch and woke up to “pressure” she felt on her body and genital area from a man who was lying on top of her.

The woman also told police she felt pressure around her neck as if she was being choked.

Because the man covered her face with a pillow, the victim was unable to identify the perpetrator, according to a police report.

Although the Florida Department of Law Enforcement did identify “a partial foreign DNA” from a rape kit performed after the incident, authorities say the agency was unable to find a match at the time.

Eustis Detective Jim Franquiz stated in a police report that other pieces of evidence also were evaluated but none provided a link to the perpetrator.

Officials collected updated DNA samples from McCain in mid-April, which the FDLE concluded matched the DNA from the woman’s vaginal swabs.

McCain was arrested about a month after the attack for resisting an officer and providing a false name to police. In February, he was sentenced to 20 years for armed robbery, attempted carjacking, and attempted kidnapping from a separate warrant.

He also faces charges for stealing the victim’s cigarettes and cellphone, police said.

According to official records, McCain has a history of charges for sexual assault in North Carolina; he was convicted on two of them.