Cobb District Attorney Sonya F. Allen announced in a public information release that Jerry Lee Pruitt was convicted of kidnapping with bodily injury, rape, aggravated sodomy, aggravated assault, burglary and false imprisonment.

His conviction for the 1997 crime in Kennesaw came as the result of a previously untested sexual assault kit.

Cobb Superior Court Judge Julie Jacobs sentenced Pruitt to two life sentences plus 20 years to run consecutive to the sentence he was already serving for another sexual assault in Alabama.

Here is the way the public information release described the events leading up to the arrest and conviction:

In the early morning hours of October 23, 1997, the then-27-year-old victim was leaving her apartment in Kennesaw, GA. As the victim opened the door, she was met by an unknown male who threw a jacket over her head, pushed her back into her apartment and assaulted her in the bedroom. He then made the victim clean herself, shower, and placed some of her clothing in the washing machine and then left. After police was notified, the victim was taken to Kennestone Hospital for a sexual assault kit exam.

Despite a thorough investigation, the case went cold. It was complicated because the victim was not able to see the perpetrator. Though the sexual assault kit was tested in 1997, due to limitations in testing at the time, no suspect was found. In 2018, following a federal initiative to get previously untested sexual assault kits tested, the victim’s sexual assault kit was retested, and a male profile was found within one of the swabs taken from the victim. In 2020, there was a CODIS hit for the defendant. Using this information, it was discovered that several women across several other states had been sexually assaulted in similar fashion by the same defendant. In 2023, a comparison swab was secured by Cobb County and confirmed Pruitt as the male profile in this victim’s sexual assault kit.

During the trial, three previous victims testified – one woman from Cobb County, one woman from Alabama and another woman from Tennessee. Though none of them were able to identify the defendant, the facts of each case were so eerily similar. The jury also heard from victim listed on the indictment, as well as several GBI chemists who testified to the strength of the DNA match found in the sexual assault kit.

“This trial marked the first case ever tried in Cobb County through SAKI (Sexual Assault Kit initiative). Rape is among the most devastating crimes – it robs victims of safety, dignity and peace of mind,” said Allen. “This defendant is a predator of the worst kind, and I am so proud of Assistant District Attorney Julian Jordan and the SAKI team for bringing this case to trial. Justice was delayed in this case but delivered. It shows that time will not shield predators from accountability. Our office will never stop fighting for victims.  This is the result of the entire team working together, their tireless preparation, and unwavering dedication to survivors of sexual violence who felt ignored for years.”

“Waiting 28 years to see justice has been surreal. I’m beyond thankful for this verdict and ready to turn the page of this chapter in my life. I carry the voices of so many who have not been heard, and I stand for them,” said the Cobb victim.