Man arrested in connection New Bedford cold case rape scheduled to be arraigned

NEW BEDFORD, Mass. (WLNE) — A man who was arrested in connection a New Bedford cold case rape is scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday.

Bristol County District Attorney Thomas Quinn’s office said that 28-year-old Dylan Ponte was arrested last month after a decade-old rape kit was tested.

Ponte was indicted last week on two counts of rape, two counts of indecent assault and battery on a person over the age of 14, and one case of witness intimidation.

In 2012, the victim had been drinking with Ponte in the area of the Hayden-McFadden School, according to the district attorney’s office.

The victim also told police she blacked out and woke up outside of her friends home with multiple bruises on her body.

She submitted to a rape kit that was one of more than 1,100 untested in Bristol County.

In May, the rape kit connected to this case was tested and matched the DNA of Dylan Ponte from previous arrests, according to Quinn’s office.

He is also convicted of misdemeanor domestic battery in Florida.