Man convicted of three rapes after DNA links him to old cases

DNA samples led to the conviction and sentence of a Kansas City, Kan., man in three rape cases.

Henry Dion Sullivan, 25, of Kansas City, Kan., was sentenced to 47.5 years, according to the Wyandotte County District Attorney’s office.

Sullivan was convicted of aggravated criminal sodomy, rape and aggravated robbery in connection with an attack on a 33-year-old woman, which occurred on June 13, 2008, in the area of 11th and Minnesota.

He was convicted of two counts of aggravated criminal sodomy, rape and aggravated assault, in connection with an attack on a 54-year-old woman, which occurred near 2nd and Central in Kansas City, Kan., on Dec. 22, 2009.

Also, Sullivan was convicted of rape and aggravated criminal sodomy in connection with a Dec. 11, 2010, attack on a 31-year-old woman, which occurred near 13th and State Avenue in Kansas City, Kan.

Samples of Sullivan’s DNA, submitted to the Kansas Bureau of Investigation in an unrelated matter by the Kansas City, Kan., police, were matched to samples recovered in these cases, the district attorney’s spokesman said.

Chief Deputy District Attorney Sheryl Lidtke prosecuted the case for the state.