FORT MYERS, Fla. A man arrested nearly 20 years after the rape he’s accused of has been extradited to Lee County.
Bond was set Thursday at $2 million for Cornelius Francis Florman, 51, who was arrested last month in Virginia, where he lives. The victim told authorities the rape happened on June 22, 1998 after she left what was then the Reef Bar on 2601 Estero Blvd., according to the Lee County Sheriff’s Office.
MORE: Virginia man arrested in 1998 Fort Myers Beach rape case
DNA evidence tipped off authorities in the cold case. A DNA sample that the woman gave authorities in 1998 sat for years until the Lee County Sheriff’s Office sent it for analysis in January 2016, shortly after a WINK News investigation into backlogged samples from other rape cases.
The sample was found to be a match with one on file for Florman, court documents show.