Police in Victoria have made a breakthrough in the cold case of an elderly woman who was sexually assaulted twice in her own home in the 1980s. A 69-year-old man from Melbourne’s south-west has been charged over the incident.
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00:00This really is a remarkable development considering how long this case has gone on and police
00:07are hoping that it finally brings some closure to the family of Jessie Lauder, that 82-year-old
00:12widow who, as you said, was allegedly sexually assaulted in her own home more than four decades
00:18ago.
00:20This is a case that has long frustrated sex crimes detectives and police believe they
00:24have cracked it today with, as you said, that 69-year-old man charged with a host of charges
00:29including one count of rape, two counts of attempted aggravated rape, as well as a series
00:34of burglary and assault charges.
00:36Police allege that those charges go back to two attacks that took place about two years
00:41apart in Melbourne in the early 80s.
00:44They say the first attack took place in 1981 when a man entered this woman's home, allegedly
00:50through the back door and then allegedly sexually assaulted her.
00:53That was in September of 1981 and police allege about two years later in July of 1983, a similar
00:59incident occurred and since then they've been operating on the assumption that the
01:02same perpetrator was allegedly involved in both incidents.
01:06Police have publicly described this as a complex and frustrating case that's played out over
01:11several decades.
01:13Back in 2016, they offered a $500,000 reward for anybody who came forward with information
01:18and then about 10 days ago, on the 14th of January, they launched a fresh appeal for
01:22information.
01:23It's not exactly clear, Jo, what happened as a result of that but earlier today they
01:27said that they had brought a 69-year-old man from Hoppers Crossing in for questioning
01:33and just about an hour ago they announced that he had been charged and he's expected
01:37to face court this afternoon.
01:40Police in their public statement, they haven't addressed media but they issued a statement
01:43where they praised the persistence of this elderly widow's family over the past few decades
01:49in their quest to bring their family member to justice and Jo, I'm sure we'll keep across
01:54any changes or anything that happens in that court appearance and hopefully bring that
01:57to viewers this afternoon.