A DeKalb County cold case that sat unresolved for decades has ended with a life sentence after DNA from an untested sexual-assault kit eventually identified the man who pleaded guilty to the 1990 rape.
Atlanta News First reported that Moses Robinson, now 67, was recently sentenced to life in prison after pleading guilty to rape.
The assault happened in 1990
According to the DeKalb County District Attorney’s Office account cited by Atlanta News First, Robinson raped a 26-year-old woman inside her Decatur apartment on Jan. 13, 1990. Authorities said the attacker kicked in the door around 3:45 a.m., pulled the woman from her bed and assaulted her in the living room.
The victim could not identify her attacker at the time. Evidence was collected, including a sexual-assault kit, but the kit went untested for years.
A 2019 test reopened the case
The sexual-assault kit was finally tested in 2019 and produced a DNA match to Robinson, according to prosecutors. DeKalb County police then contacted the victim, who told investigators she wanted to move forward with charges.
Robinson was indicted in 2025 and later pleaded guilty to rape. The life sentence closes the criminal case more than 36 years after the assault.
The case is another example of how testing older evidence can revive investigations that once had no identified suspect. In this case, prosecutors say the DNA result provided the link that investigators did not have in 1990.
