PLANT CITY, Fla. – A Lakeland man has been arrested in a 2015 Plant City sexual assault case after a DNA match from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
According to police, during the early hours of January 31, 2015, an adult female reported to law enforcement that she had just been sexually assaulted in the area of the 4100 block of W. Hwy 574, Plant City, Florida.
The victim, in this case, was taken to a local hospital for treatment from injuries sustained during this encounter.
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On October 18, 2022, the Plant City Police Department received a Combined DNA Index System match from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement belonging to the suspect, 30-year-old Leonel Sotelo Cortez.
Police say further tests confirmed a DNA match with Cortez.
On February 1, 2023, an arrest warrant was issued charging Cortez with one count of Sexual Battery Causing Injury, one count of False Imprisonment, and one count of Criminal Mischief.
Cortez was apprehended by the Tampa Police Department on February 3, 2023, and booked into the Orient Road Jail.
According to records, Cortez lives on Tanglewood Street in Lakeland.
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