Kenneth Jackson, 47, was convicted of the crime in a courtroom in Montgomery, a press release from Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange said.
The release stated that around 3 a.m. on Oct. 22, 1994, Jackson broke into an Anniston home and sexually “attacked” a seven-year-old girl.
Jackson is already serving a life sentence in prison for raping and kidnapping an eight-year-old Birmingham girl in 1994. Jackson was also convicted of first-degree burglary related to that Birmingham incident, the press release said.
The guilty plea Thursday in the Anniston case was the result of a joint cold-case project between the Attorney General’s Office and the state Department of Forensic Sciences to investigate violent sexual crimes “that previously had been closed due to lack of investigative leads,” the press release read.
That project is funded by a federal U.S. Department of Justice Grant.
In June 2010, officials working for the Attorney General presented DNA evidence that identified Jackson as the man who committed the crimes against the Anniston girl to a Calhoun County grand jury, which resulted in Jackson’s indictment.
In the written press release, Strange praised the cooperation between the various state and local law-enforcement agencies that helped bring closure in the Anniston case.
“I am pleased that the is case provides another important example of the Attorney General’s Office working together with other law enforcement agencies to persevere in achieving justice for victims,” Strange said.
Star staff writer Cameron Steele: 256-235-3562.
