Tampa man convicted in 30-year-old rape case
Booking image for Phillip Coward (Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office)
TAMPA, Fla. - A man accused of raping a young mother back in 1988 was found guilty.
Last week, a jury convicted 60-year-old Phillip Coward on two counts of sexual battery, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office announced Monday.
Officials said the crime occurred on November 15, 1988. The victim fell asleep on the couch and was awoken in the middle of the night by a male – later identified as Coward. Officials said he was holding a knife to her throat and threatened to stab her son if she screamed or fought back.
She was sexually battered twice, officials said, and Coward fled from the home.
At the time, deputies found the knife outside of the victim’s home’s front door. They said the suspect took it from a knife block in the victim’s kitchen. A sexual battery exam of the victim was completed, but the case went cold.
By 2017, the sexual battery examination kit was re-analyzed as part of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement’s backlog purge. A DNA profile of the suspect was created.
No other specifics were provided, but, according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, it led to the arrest of Coward on June 11, 2018. The agency said the victim didn’t know her attacker.
Coward’s sentencing will be held on February 13, 2020.