New DNA software helps catch serial rapist, accused of assaulting several women including two minors

CAUGHT: New DNA software helps catch serial rapist accused of assaulting several women, including one minor

MILWAUKEE (WITI) -- Michael Dixon, an accused serial rapist, roamed the streets of Milwaukee for a decade -- but thanks to a new technology, he's now in custody and facing a slew of sexual assault charges.

Dixon made his initial appearance Friday, July 11th at the Milwaukee County Courthouse. He stands accused of sexually assaulting several women -- two of them under the age of 16-years-old. He is the first person in the state to be identified using a new piece of technology.

A woman we spoke with says back in 2011, her relative was at a friend's house and called for a ride home. "By the time I called her back to let her know her ride was coming, that’s when the incident occurred," said the woman. We aren't giving you the woman's name in an effort to protect the victim's identity.

According to a criminal complaint, Michael Dixon allegedly offered the woman's relative a ride. She got in the car, and he took her to an alley. He then allegedly pressed his arm against her throat, and asked her if she'd rather be choked to death or shot, before unbuttoning her pants and forcing her to have sex with him.

The girl was taken to a sexual assault treatment center, where they were able to collect evidence from the jeans she was wearing. The DNA didn't match anyone in the state crime lab's data bank, which meant her assailant still roamed free.

While authorities didn't yet have a name, they did know that DNA from the same man had been collected from three other assaults.

"In other words, we had a serial rapist," said Norman Gahn, Milwaukee Co. assistant district attorney.

The state's crime lab data bank is filled with known convicted offenders. Dixon wasn't in the data bank, but authorities were able to use a new technology -- called Familial Search Software -- to track him down. "They basically ask the computer is there anyone in the data bank of these known persons who could be a relative of the person who’s been raping these women," said Gahn.

A relative of Dixon's popped in the data bank -- helping point them in his direction. Police already had a DNA sample from Dixon from another case, and found that it matched the DNA left in the assault cases.

FOX6 was told that this is the first case where this particular software was used -- though it's expected to be helpful in other unsolved or serial cases.