FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WOWO) – A man has been arrested for a rape that occurred 28 years ago in northeast Fort Wayne.
It started on May 29, 1997 at around 9:45 pm, when the Fort Wayne Police Department received a report of a rape that happened in Shoaff Park.
The victim indicated that she was on a trail near the boat ramp when someone grabbed her from behind. The man dragged her into the weeds where he proceeded to rape and beat her at knifepoint. After she was raped, she was seen at Parkview Hospital and the Sexual Assault Treatment Center. A sex kit was collected and submitted to the Indiana State Police Laboratory.
On March 12, 2025, the FWPD received a CODIS hit from the ISP. The hit identified the rape suspect as 56-year-old David Mark Kerner, formerly of Fort Wayne.
The case was assigned to Detective Roy Sutphin of the Crimes Against Persons Section (CAPS).
On Tuesday, May 20, Detective Roy Sutphin and Detective Charles Volz traveled to Indianapolis and arrested Kerner on several Charges. Kerner was then transported to the Allen County Jail where he is facing preliminary charges of Rape (felony), Criminal Deviant Conduct (felony), Battery with a deadly weapon (felony), and Battery (misdemeanor).
The Fort Wayne Police Department was assisted in this investigation by the Sexual Assault Treatment Center, the Indiana State Police, and the Indianapolis Metro Police Department.
