Man suspected in rape of 12 women and girls arrested in South Carolina, sheriff's office says

Gregory Howard Frye of Spartanburg was arrested Tuesday and charged with one count of burglary, first-degree kidnapping and criminal sexual conduct in connection with one of the assaults, but additional charges were pending, the sheriff's office said in a statement.

The victims, who ranged in age from 14 to 51, were assaulted between 1995 and 2003 in apartment buildings in the early-morning hours, the statement said. One victim was targeted twice.

Efforts to apprehend a suspect were hampered by gaps of 16 months, 20 months and 37 months between incidents, according to the sheriff's office.

The women all gave similar descriptions of their attacker, the statement said.

"The suspect's actions in all the incidents was also very similar, leading investigators to believe that all the offenses were committed by the same person," the statement said. "Once the results of DNA analysis came back on the completed criminal sexual conduct cases, it confirmed all the incidents were committed by the same person."

The break came after Spartanburg police officers and sheriff's deputies six months ago began "reviewing all of the old cases, re-interviewing victims, identifying potential family members of possible suspects, collecting new DNA samples," the statement said.

Analysis by the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division identified a suspect with a DNA profile that matched evidence collected from six of the victims, the sheriff's office said.

Two of the assaults occurred in the city of Spartanburg, and the other incidents happened in the county.

Frye appeared before a magistrate this week and will arraigned before a Circuit Court judge at a later date.

It's unclear if he has an attorney.

CNN's Rebekah Riess contributed to this report.

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