FCPD announces arrest 35 years after alleged rape, abduction

(Updated at 5 p.m.) A man who lured a 14-year-old girl to a radio station is being held in Fairfax County jail, accused of raping the teenager in 1987.

William Clark, 59, of Ashburn, was arrested Monday (April 18) in Fairfax County and also faces charges of abduction with the intent to defile and attempted forcible sodomy. Police said that he lured the teen into his vehicle in Fairfax City and then took her to a wooded area, where the sexual assault took place.

“The victim arrived at the radio station, was enticed into Clark’s vehicle with the promise of prizes,” Fairfax County Police Department Maj. Ed O’Carroll said today (Wednesday) during a news conference.

Clark allegedly called the victim’s mother at her workplace to tell her she was eligible to win $1,000 and a trip to Hawaii if she was listening to the radio station, police said.

Clark was a stranger claiming to be a popular DJ host, police said.

The mother provided details about her home, and Clark, then a 24-year-old Herndon resident, called the home and talked with the daughter, according to authorities.

He allegedly took her to a wooded area on Ridge Top Road near Lee Highway, police later said in a statement. During the crime, he implied he had a firearm, and after the sexual assault, he drove away, police said.

The victim immediately reported what happened, and forensic evidence was collected and preserved, O’Carroll said. Over 70 suspects were identified but eliminated over the decades.

“We never gave up,” O’Carroll said, telling the victim that he was sorry she endured the crime over three decades ago.

In recent years, new technology has emerged that relies on DNA evidence and genealogy research, helping police identify Clark as a person of interest on Jan. 3. In mid-February, police obtained a DNA sample from him.

“These crimes have no statute of limitations,” O’Carroll said, asking people to contact police if they have information about this case or others. “Our commitment is to close them.”

Clark is due in court on July 8 to face the charges.