Jancys Santiago sentenced to 25 years for 2001 Bronx rape

Jancys Santiago, 50, has been sentenced to 25 years in prison for the 2001 rape of a college student in the Bronx. The sentence will be served consecutively with a 20-year sentence he is already serving for a separate 2000 Manhattan rape.

The conviction marks the first time in New York that a rape case was indicted using investigative genetic genealogy. Using a Department of Justice grant, investigators uploaded DNA from the crime scene to an ancestry website, identifying distant relatives that allowed them to map Santiago’s family line.

Santiago, who had lived in the victim's apartment building at the time of the 2001 attack, had been living in Florida for over two decades before being extradited. The victim, Katy Vicchitto, provided impact testimony during the sentencing, describing the lasting psychological effects of the assault.