CINCINNATI — A Hamilton County grand jury has indicted a man on multiple charges tied to a rape investigation from 2010, Cincinnati police announced Monday.
On April 11, 2010, Cincinnati police officers responded to the 3900 block of West Eighth Street after someone reported being raped at gunpoint, police said. At that point, police were unable to identify a suspect in the case.
Then, 16 years later, on April 26, 2026, the investigation was re-opened after a Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) hit was received by the Hamilton County Coroner's Library. CODIS is an FBI database tool used by law enforcement to link crimes, find suspects and locate missing people through DNA.
WATCH: WCPO breaks down the CODIS hit
After the CODIS hit, Cincinnati police said 36-year-old Robert Malone Jr. was indicted by a Hamilton County grand jury on charges of rape, kidnapping, two counts of unlawful restraint, three counts of gross sexual imposition, assault and aggravated menacing.
Butler County Prosecutor Mike Gmoser, who didn't talk about the specifics of the ongoing case against Malone in his county, gave WCPO insight into these types of cases. Gmoser said cold cases present unique challenges from the start.
"In a cold case, you have to start over. You start from the beginning with whatever was done, and you go back, and you retrace the steps," Gmoser said.
Gmoser could not talk about Malone's case currently making its way through the county's justice system, but he shared insight about the challenges cold cases like this generally face.
"Sexual assault cold cases are probably more challenging than another type of case that we handle. Basically, the elements of proof rely upon the testimony of witnesses that have deteriorating memories over time," Gmoser said.
Gmoser also noted that a DNA match from a rape kit only proves that physical contact or sexual intercourse occurred — it does not automatically prove that a crime took place.
"Once the identity is established, the fingerprint evidence or DNA evidence. But those elements are generally still useful in cold cases, if you have DNA from a, what is it called--the sexual abuse kit, the sane kit. Where you have DNA evidence or other types of physical evidence that's still available. But most of those cases still rely on the value of the testimony that's involved," Gmoser said.
Cincinnati police and Hamilton County prosecutors have renewed efforts to solve cold cases. Investigators are mostly revisiting decades-old homicides using modern DNA and ballistic technology. Agencies including CPD, the prosecutor's office, and ATF are collaborating on investigations using tools like CODIS.
Malone is due in court Wednesday for a hearing in Butler County for the charges he faces there. No court dates have been scheduled for his rape case in Hamilton County.
Malone is currently in the Butler County Jail; court records show on May 22, he was charged with pandering sexually oriented matter involving a minor.
There are no court dates scheduled for Malone in Hamilton County currently; he is scheduled for a hearing July 29 in Butler County for the charge he faces there.
