CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Almost 13 months after an attempted rape on the McAlpine Creek Greenway in Charlotte, police say they arrested a suspect. Investigators said they identified the alleged attacker using DNA after he was arrested in two other cases.
Police identified the suspect in the attack as 28-year-old Khalil Boler. Investigators said he attacked a woman from behind and tried to rape her, but she fought him off on Sept. 7, 2022.
Investigators arrested Boler on Thursday. He’s currently in the Mecklenburg County Detention Center with a $300,000 bond and facing multiple charges, including attempted second-degree rape, second-degree kidnapping, assault on a female and sexual battery.
CMPD Lt. Jim Ivey said Boler became a person of interest in the McAlpine Greenway case after he was arrested in two separate cases at the Target on University City Boulevard. He was charged with sexual battery and indecent exposure in those cases, according to police.
“University City Division officers investigated both cases at the Target and their detailed reports and descriptions helped Sexual Assault Unit detectives identify Mr. Boler as a suspect,” police said in a news release.
Ivey said they also got DNA from the crime scene on McAlpine Creek Greenway and were able to use that to allegedly connect Boler to the assault.
“This is a heinous attack on a survivor who was merely out getting some exercise and enjoying fresh air in one of our parks,” Ivey said in a news conference at McAlpine Creek Park Monday. “This case brought all available resources to bear, I can promise you that.”