Man charged in 30-year-old sexual assault and robbery case in Clinton
CLINTON — An Ohio man has been arrested in a 30-year-old criminal sexual conduct and robbery case in Clinton after a review of DNA evidence.
Ricky Nelson Bixler, 63, was arraigned Wednesday in Lenawee County District Court on single counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct, kidnapping, armed robbery and first-degree home invasion. A probable cause conference on his new charges is scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 9, and a preliminary examination is scheduled for Feb. 16, according to online district court records.
Bixler is an inmate with the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, a news release from the Clinton Police Department said. He has been in prison since 1994 and has a long criminal history with several felony convictions, including kidnapping, robbery and sexual assault in Kansas and Ohio. He is originally from the Bowling Green, Ohio, area. According to online ODRC records, Bixler is serving 10 to 25 years on a rape conviction from 2012. His expected release date is in May 2028.
Police said the incident in Clinton happened on Nov. 28, 1992. A woman in her mid-20s was home alone caring for several young children when a man, armed with a knife, entered the home and demanded money from the woman. After money was given, the man then forcefully sexually assaulted the victim and fled the home on foot.
During the initial investigation conducted by officers of the Clinton Police Department, a sexual assault kit was completed and DNA evidence was discovered. No suspect was initially identified, and the case went cold until March 2022. The DNA evidence from this investigation was still in the possession of the Clinton Police Department and with the assistance of the Michigan State Police Lansing Laboratory, the evidence was submitted and re-examined, yielding a match in the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) to Bixler.
On Nov. 28, 2022, 30 years to the date of the incident, the Lenawee County Prosecutor’s Office charged Bixler in the Clinton case. If convicted, he could face up to life in prison.
Bixler’s Ohio conviction that led to his imprisonment in 1994 was from a Nov. 5, 1992, robbery and sexual assault case that occurred in Leipsic, Ohio. The Ohio case also went unsolved until a 2001, when a DNA CODIS hit revealed that Bixler was the suspect, police said.
CODIS houses DNA samples collected from known offenders as well as a samples collected from submitted evidence.
This article originally appeared on The Daily Telegram: Man charged in 1992 sexual assault, robbery case in Clinton
