Police say DNA tests link former Latrobe man to alleged rape of teenage girl
Police charged a former Latrobe man Tuesday in connection with rape accusations made by a teenage girl.
Authorities said DNA found on the girl’s clothing was a match for Randy B. Shipley Jr., 39, who is now an inmate at a state prison in Central Pennsylvania.
The girl reported the Feb. 5 sex assault to her family and told investigators Shipley gave her alcohol.
During an interview with police that day, Shipley denied the accusations and said there was “not even a 1% chance” that his DNA would be found on evidence in the case, according to court papers.
A state police crime lab determined Shipley’s DNA was a likely match for two pieces of evidence, according to court papers. He is charged with rape, statutory sexual assault, corruption of minors and related offenses.
Shipley had not been arraigned and did not have an attorney listed in online court records.
He was arrested Feb. 5 on an unrelated theft charge by Latrobe police and spent the next several months in the Westmoreland County Prison before being released to SCI Smithfield in Huntingdon County this month on a Jefferson County case, according to court and state prison records.
Shipley was sentenced in 2006 to three years and six months to seven years in the 2003 Jefferson County theft case, according to court records.
Renatta Signorini is a TribLive reporter covering breaking news, crime, courts and Jeannette. She has been working at the Trib since 2005. She can be reached at rsignorini@triblive.com.
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