DNA leads to arrest 21 years after armed masked man sexually assaulted Florida woman in her home: CCSO

GOLDEN GATE, Fla. - Twenty-one years after a Florida woman was reportedly sexually assaulted inside her home by an armed, masked intruder, law enforcement officers have made an arrest.

The backstory:

According to the Collier County Sheriff’s Office, a masked intruder armed with a knife broke into the woman’s Golden Gate home in the early morning hours of Aug. 28, 2004.

Detectives said DNA collected during the original investigation did not initially produce a match, but that changed earlier this month.

On December 9, 2025, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement notified the Collier County Sheriff’s Office of a possible investigative lead in the case.

Detectives said DNA from 46-year-old Rossel Moises Ponce Chirinos was taken in Tennessee, where he was incarcerated for driving without a valid license.

Courtesy: Cocke County Sheriff’s Office

Authorities said a recent search of the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS), the FBI’s DNA database commonly known as CODIS, indicated a potential match between Chirinos’s DNA and DNA found at the scene of the sexual assault and burglary in 2004.

Working with the Cocke County Sheriff’s Office, CCSO detectives got and tested a new DNA sample from Chirinos.

Within days, FDLE said it confirmed the DNA sample from Chirinos matched the foreign DNA collected during the original CCSO sexual battery investigation.

On December 23, 2025, a warrant was signed for Chirinos’s arrest on charges of sexual battery and armed burglary. The warrant was served on Chirinos at the Cocke County jail. 

What they're saying:

"This was a heinous crime, and our detectives have been intent on solving it since day one," Sheriff Kevin Rambosk said. "We never give up. No matter how much time has passed, we will continue using every investigative tool available to identify offenders and pursue justice for victims."

What's next:

Chirinos will be extradited to Collier County.