DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — A Decatur man will spend years behind bars after pleading guilty in a rape case that remained unsolved for more than three decades, according to the DeKalb County District Attorney’s Office.
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The DeKalb County District Attorney’s Office announced that Moses Robinson, 67, pleaded guilty Tuesday to rape in connection with the sexual assault of a 26-year-old woman at an apartment complex in unincorporated Decatur in 1990.
Following his non-negotiated guilty plea, A judge sentenced Robinson to life in prison. Prosecutors stated that because the crime occurred in 1990, Robinson’s sentence will be subject to the parole guidelines that were in effect at that time.
According to investigators, the assault happened around 3:45 a.m. on Jan. 13, 1990, at the Misty Waters Apartment complex. The victim told police she was in bed when she heard her back door being kicked in.
Authorities said Robinson entered the apartment, pulled the woman from her bedroom into the living room and told her he had a knife. Prosecutors said he then forced her to the ground and raped her.
After the assault, Robinson remained in the apartment for about two hours, talking with the victim before leaving, according to investigators. The victim later underwent a sexual assault examination at Grady Memorial Hospital, and evidence from the exam was submitted to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.
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At the time, investigators did not have a suspect, and the evidence could not be tested using technology available then. The GBI preserved the biological evidence collected in the sexual assault kit.
The case received new attention in 2019 when the GBI sent the sexual assault kit to a private laboratory for testing as part of a statewide effort to process previously unsubmitted rape kits. Prosecutors said the testing produced a match in the Combined DNA Index System, known as CODIS, that identified Robinson as an investigative lead.
Members of the Sexual Assault Kit Initiative team later located the original case file and contacted the victim in 2024. After confirming she wanted to move forward with prosecution, the case was presented to a DeKalb County grand jury.
Robinson was indicted on Aug. 8, 2025, and taken into custody later that month. He remained in the DeKalb County Jail without bond until entering his guilty plea.
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