DNA and a cold-case mystery
Former South Florida ‘superthief’ awaits trial on 40-year-old rape allegations
John MacLean liked to think of himself as more cunning than most criminals.
He gave himself a comic-book type persona, embraced his crimes, even wrote a book about his exploits called “Secrets of a Superthief.” One of his most notathey ble hauls: $1 million in jewelry from the Fort Lauderdale mansion of a Johnson & Johnson heiress.
But MacLean, 71, draws the line at being called a rapist.
Cops believed he could be the elusive “Gentle Rapist,” who spoke softly to his victims and typically wore disguises while committing hundreds of sexual batteries.
According to a 1982 article in the Fort Lauderdale News, police also called him the Coconut Grove Rapist, the Bicycle Rapist, and a purple tightswearing character called “The Cape.”
But they never managed to prove he tormented women across Florida in the 1970s.
Now, though, prosecutors say believe they are finally able to make the case against MacLean, and hold him accountable for rapes in Boca Raton in 1976 and 1977. There is no statute of limitations on these crimes. The key in seeking convictions now is the use of DNA.
MacLean was forced to provide samples of his genetic fingerprint in 2005, after finishing a prison sentence on an early 1990s Arizona sex offense.
By 2012, authorities say they linked his DNA to evidence from the Boca attacks, in what was hailed as a cold-case breakthrough.
Since then, MacLean and his lawyers have been unable to convince the courts that the armed sexual battery charges must be thrown out, over claims of tainted evidence, destroyed evidence including fingerprints, poor police work, and the age of the cases.
So the first trial is finally set to begin with jury selection Monday, with MacLean seething over what he contends is an “unquestionable criminal conspiracy to convict an