Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey announced today that the Boone County Prosecutor’s Office secured a conviction for sexual assault against Lonny Ray Caldwell after the AGO’s SAFE Kit Initiative obtained a CODIS hit matching his DNA.
“This is a huge win out of our SAFE Kit Initiative. I am proud of my team of professionals dedicated to achieving real results for victims of sexual assault,” said Attorney General Bailey. “We will continue to partner with local law enforcement and prosecutors to obtain justice for victims.”
According to court records, on April 8, 2001, Caldwell, who was 30 years old at the time, drugged the 17-year-old victim prior to sexually assaulting her. The case was investigated by the Boone County Sheriff’s Office, and the sexual assault kit was collected at the hospital on the date of the incident.
As part of his quest to clear the backlog of untested sexual assault kits in Missouri, Attorney General Bailey’s SAFE Kit team sent the kit for testing on March 4, 2022. Two months later, the lab confirmed that the DNA matched Caldwell's. The Attorney General’s Office notified the investigative agency and the Boone County prosecutor immediately.
Caldwell pled guilty to sexual assault four days before his trial date before Judge Kevin M. Crane in Boone County Circuit Court. The court sentenced Caldwell to five years in the Missouri Department of Corrections.
Attorney General Bailey’s team sent the final shipment of untested sexual assault kits to the lab for testing on March 22, 2024. So far, clearing the SAFE kit backlog has resulted in 1,175 CODIS uploads, 557 CODIS hits, four felony convictions and seven pending court cases set for trial or with warrants issued. This milestone would not have been reached without the effort and support of Missouri’s law enforcement and hospital partners.