RESERVE TOWNSHIP, PA — Allegheny County Police have charged a Beaver County man in connection with a sexual assault investigation from 1989.
On Jan. 17, 1989, a female victim arrived at an area hospital following a reported sexual assault in Reserve Township.
The Allegheny County Police Department’s General Investigations Unit was requested to investigate.
At the time, a sexual assault evidence collection kit was completed, DNA evidence was recovered, but no suspects were identified.
In November 2024, detectives were notified of a Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) hit from the Allegheny County Office of the Medical Examiner believed to be connected to the assault.
The report indicated a match with a convicted offender in the Pennsylvania State Police DNA database, identified as Lewis Vearnon, 65, of Beaver County.
As part of their investigation, detectives obtained a search warrant to obtain an additional DNA sample from Vearnon.
Results of that sample once again showed a statistical match to the original DNA samples collected from the victim in 1989.
Vearnon is facing multiple charges to include rape, kidnapping, and aggravated assault.
He was taken into custody on April 15, and is currently in the Beaver County Jail pending extradition to Allegheny County.
