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DNA Leads To Arrest In New Port Richey Rape

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By LISA A. DAVIS | The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 9, 2008

  James Cregger

NEW PORT RICHEY - A 37-year-old man was arrested by city police Monday, accused of kidnapping and raping a woman July 4.

James Christian Cregger, whose address is listed as "at large," faces charges of kidnapping and sexual battery. He was being held at the Land O' Lakes Jail today with bail set at $200,000.

Police said this wasn't a random act and that the woman and Cregger had met before.

According to police, Cregger forced the 36-year-old woman into a backyard and forced her to perform several different sex acts. While he assaulted her, a police report states, he told her he would kill her if she made any noise during the attack.

Cregger told the woman he would shoot her though he never displayed a weapon, said Lt. Jeffrey Harrington of the New Port Richey Police Department.

"She was absolutely terrified," he said. "She was afraid for her life."

The woman was bitten and choked to the point of unconsciousness, the police report states.

A rape kit exam conducted on the woman collected DNA evidence which was sent to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement crime lab, which recently determined the DNA profile matched that of Cregger, according to a report.

He was arrested Monday by Detective Randy Murphy in the Davis Center on U.S. 19 near Green Key Road.

Cregger, according to his arrest affidavit, denied kidnapping the woman or engaging in any sex acts with her.

On July 4, New Port Richey police arrested him on an outstanding violation of probation warrant, but they didn't have enough evidence to arrest him on the rape charge, Harrington said.

He was released from jail nearly a month later, only to be arrested again on an unrelated charge on Sept. 2 and released yet again the next day, jail records show.

Reporter Lisa A. Davis can be reached at (727) 815-1083 or ldavis@tampatrib.com.

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