30 years later: DNA evidence leads to charges in 1994, 1997 Ogden rapes

OGDEN — An administrative mistake led to criminal charges against Jerald Leroy McAdams, now 68, being dismissed over 20 years ago, police say.

But now, "new evidence has come to light surrounding the conduct of McAdams" related to a reported rape in 1997 "and newly discovered DNA evidence from a 1994 crime with similar characteristics," according to a warrant unsealed last week. And police are now asking any other potential victims or anyone with information to come forward.

Ogden police detectives traveled to Washington and arrested McAdams, who was then extradited to Utah and booked into Weber County Jail on Tuesday for charges in two separate cases.

McAdams, most recently living in Winlock, Washington, faces charges of aggravated kidnapping and rape, first-degree felonies; and forcible sexual abuse, a second-degree felony, related to DNA collected from the 16-year-old victim of a 1994 reported rape. He is also charged with the rape of an 18-year-old homeless woman in 1997; in that case, he faces one count each of aggravated kidnapping and rape, first-degree felonies.

Both cases were reexamined after Ogden police received a DNA match from the Utah Bureau of Forensic Services in September 2023, court documents state.

1994 case

In December 1994, a 16-year-old got off work at an Ogden restaurant and walked to the nearby bus stop but missed the bus, court documents say.

"A man whom she didn't know pulled up next to her out of the Chevron station and asked her if she wanted a ride," the charges state. He was described as a man in his 30s with shoulder length, reddish-brown hair and a short, full beard with a mustache.

He drove an older Pontiac Trans Am, the girl told police, dark brown with a T-top, with a tan pinstripe and black interior. She got in the car, according to court documents, and the man "pulled out a wad of money he had been sitting on and asked her if she made that kind of money. She said that she saw $100, $50 and $20 bills in the wad of money."

The two drove by her house, pulling into the parking lot of a church on 26th Street and Eccles Avenue. The girl told police "she thought he was going to turn around, but he stopped. He asked her if she wanted to make some money and have sex with him, and she said 'no,'" the charges say.

The man grabbed her by the hair and threw her into the back seat of the car and raped her, telling her to "shut up" and "don't touch" him, according to charging documents.

He then pushed her out of the car before she could retrieve her things, a day planner and ID, before she ran home, reported the assault and was immediately taken to the doctor for an exam, according to court documents.

Later that day, the man left the day planner and ID at her work, with her boss and a co-worker reporting a man who matched the description of the girl's, with a beard and long hair, according to court documents.

Almost 30 years later, in 2023, investigators received a notification of a match in the Combined DNA Index System, also known as CODIS, maintained by the FBI, from a DNA sample taken from the girl after the assault.

1997 case

In September 1997, police say a man driving a white Corvette asked an 18-year-old woman, who was walking near Adams Avenue and 23rd Street in Ogden, to help him find an address for $10. She told police "she was broke and without a permanent address" and accepted the money to help.

He showed her "a large roll of $100 bills," according to the charges, and said "he had a nice three-bedroom house in Bountiful." They pulled into the east parking lot of the old Edgewood Reception Center just south of the El Monte Golf Course.

The man offered $500 for a sex act and the two walked to a bench where he exposed himself, the charges allege. She refused his advances but police say he raped her, only stopping when interrupted by a noise.

The man took her to a mall and made plans to meet back up with the 18-year-old within the hour, but when he left she got help from mall security guards, who contacted Ogden police, court documents show.

McAdams was charged in connection with the rape, and police say they found $7,850 in cash on him when he was arrested.

In an interview after his arrest, he told police he was "41 years old and single; it's hard to meet people, and I have done things before, you know," court documents say, with police asserting McAdams was referencing the 1994 incident.

He was booked into Weber County Jail on charges of aggravated kidnapping and rape. "However, it appears (the woman) failed to receive a subpoena or notice of a scheduled preliminary hearing, and the criminal charges were dismissed without prejudice," court documents state.

The woman "has been located out of state and has said she has never wavered in her desire to pursue criminal charges for the 1997 crime," according to the charges.

The man left Utah in 1998, according to a warrant, and was later convicted in a 1999 kidnapping and rape case in Washington. He was also convicted of stalking after a Washington woman reported being approached by him four separate times while walking in 2005.

The victim in that case reported that a man "pulled up next to her on the sidewalk and asked for directions to the mall." She got in his car to try to help him, and he asked her for sexual acts and offered her $1,000. After she refused, he grabbed her, pulled her back into the car as she was trying to leave, drove to a secluded location and raped her.

Throughout the '90s, police requested McAdam's information from the National Crime Information Center database regarding cases they were investigating in Rhode Island, Oregon, Nevada, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, and Washington, according to information from an arrest warrant.

Ogden police told KSL.com this is not unusual once an offender's DNA is in the system.

Ogden police are seeking "anyone with information about McAdams, or other potential victims" from 1991 to 1998 to contact the Ogden Police Department Investigations Bureau at 801-629-8228 or email opdinvestigations@ogdencity.gov.

McAdam's initial appearance is scheduled for Thursday in 2nd District Court.

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