It's a landmark legal twist in Franklin County, where the prosecutor has indicted a John Doe for a rape that happened nearly 20 years ago.
Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O'Brien says on July 10, 1994, a 20-year old woman was asleep in her home on Kenwick Road.
"...and was awakened by someone in her apartment who was attempting to kiss her," said O'Brien.
Police collected evidence from the scene of the crime. In 2008, the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation tested the evidence and created the rapist's DNA profile.
Now, prosecutors have charged John Doe with kidnapping and rape. Prosecutors say it doesn't matter if they don't know the rapist's name.
"People use aliases, change names,” said O’Brien.
Prosecutors say they have something irrefutable - the rapist’s DNA profile.
The courts have already upheld this creative twist of justice.
Prosecutors in Dayton, in Montgomery County, filed charges against a John Doe for the rape of a 14-year-old girl back in 2001.
A decade later, police arrested Robert Bernardi for an unrelated crime and collected his DNA which linked him to the rape. Bernardi is currently serving 15 years behind bars for the crime.
O'Brien says the victim in this case was ecstatic that her chance for justice will not run out.
The prosecutor says he's also considering John Doe DNA profile charges in another eight or nine unsolved case.
Delaware County indicted a DNA profile earlier this year. That cases involves the 1993 rape of a young girl who was walking alone when a man offered her a ride, and then raped her.
With No Suspect Match, DNA Profile Indicted For 1994 Franklin County Rape
Prosecutors took evidence to a Grand Jury to avoid the expiration of the statute of limitations in a rape case.