A Charlotte man already serving time for a drug conviction was arrested Thursday and charged with sexually assaulting a 29-year-old woman in 1997.
Johnny William Bell, 29, was taken into custody at the Morrison Correctional Facility in Hoffman, N.C., and charged with first-degree kidnapping and two counts of second-degree sexual offense. Police say Bell was within days of being released from prison on the drug charge.
According to a Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police report, the victim said she was walking on Boone Street near Oaklawn Avenue when an unknown man pulled up to her and forced her into his vehicle. The attacker threatened her with a knife then drove her to a remote location and sexually assaulted the woman. The man then drove his victim to Ludlow Avenue where he forced her out of the vehicle. The victim said she was helped by a nearby resident who called police.
No suspect was identified in the initial investigation, according to CMPD. But using forensic evidence collected in the case, investigators identified Bell and made the arrest, the report stated.
