DNA testing leads to conviction in 1999 Salisbury rape

A Salisbury man has been convicted in connection to a July 1999 rape, thanks to a DNA database.

On Monday, 52-year-old Christopher Gibbs Jr. was convicted of rape 2nd degree and other related charges. The charges stem from a July 22nd, 1999 incident on Isabella Street in Salisbury. The victim was walking home from work, when Gibbs forced her into her apartment at knife point, before sexually assaulting her in the bedroom.

As Gibbs was leaving the apartment, he cut the phone cord from the wall, and stole the victim’s purse and keys. At that time, Salisbury Police’s City Investigation Division investigated the incident, and DNA evidence was collected from the victim at Peninsula Regional Medical Center.

The evidence was sent to the Maryland Crime Lab, but a suspect wasn’t identified, until the attacker’s DNA was uploaded onto the FBI’s Combined DNA Index System. In 2014, the CODIS unit informed Salisbury PD that the DNA belonged to Gibbs Jr..

Sentencing will be set at a later date, following a pre-sentence investigation. Gibbs apparently has a significant criminal history, including burglary, theft, and drug offenses.