21-052 Detectives Arrest Armed Sexual Battery Suspect from a 1999 Cold Case

Pinellas County Sheriff's Office
Investigative Operations Bureau
- Robbery/Homicide Unit
Support Services Bureau
-Forensic Science Division

Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE)

Florida State Attorney’s Office – Sixth Judicial Circuit

Gregory Phillip Thompson (Arrested) 
DOB: 11/07/1961 
Address: 1476 Pinebrook Drive, Clearwater
Charge: One count of Armed Sexual Battery

The victim is currently a 52-year-old adult female. Per FL Statute 119.071(2)(h)1.b no other information will be released that would tend to identify the victim. 

PINELLAS COUNTY – Detectives assigned to the Robbery/Homicide Unit have arrested 59-year-old Gregory Thompson for a sexual battery which occurred in 1999. Detectives were able to identify Thompson after additional DNA testing was conducted by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

According to detectives, at approximately 8:25 a.m. on November 15, 1999, deputies responded to a Dunedin residence for a report of a sexual battery. The female victim, who was 30-years-old at the time, left her residence unlocked and departed for a short period of time. Thompson entered the unlocked door, hid inside, and attacked her when she returned. Thompson threatened the victim with a knife and she complied out of fear.

Thompson sexually battered the female victim and forced her to perform oral sex on him. Thompson ordered the victim to shower to destroy the evidence but the victim locked herself in the bathroom and began to scream to attract attention. Unable to gain entry, Thompson fled the residence. The victim waited until she thought Thompson was gone and immediately notified law enforcement.

Detectives resubmitted DNA evidence in 2020, originally collected in 1999, and provided it to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) where a profile of the suspect was developed and uploaded into national and state databases. Thompson’s DNA was in the database from a previous criminal conviction and the new DNA profile matched his.

On the morning of Wednesday, May 5, 2021, detectives made contact with Thompson at his residence where he denied the allegations. Thompson was charged with one count of Armed Sexual Battery and was transported to Pinellas County Jail.

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