Convicted Fulton County serial rapist sentenced to life in prison
FULTON COUNTY, Ga. - A convicted serial rapist in Fulton County will spend the rest of his life behind bars.
A Fulton County jury convicted 56-year-old D'Andre Shabazz of rape, kidnapping, and aggravated assault, along with several other charges, in February.
On Tuesday, Shabazz received 12 consecutive life sentences.
Prosecutors say between Jan. 24, 2002 and March 26, 2005, Shabazz sexually assaulted at least 12 female victims
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Some of the victims, police say, were 15-years-old.
According to police, Shabazz would target women and girls who were walking alone late at night, specifically focusing on women who were struggling or were sex workers. Officials say Shabazz would follow them and force them into his car. Shabazz is then accused of driving the women to parks, including Pekerson Park multiple times, or abandoned homes where he would force them to have sex with him.
During the attacks, Shabazz would utilize a gun and did not use a condom.
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For nearly two decades, the cases remained unsolved until 2017, when prosecutors went through old rape kits and matched Shabazz's DNA to a 2003 case. They then matched him to 11 others.
[The victims] reacted like this had happened to them yesterday. They remembered the incidents, the sexual assaults in chilling detail," said Irina Khasin, a prosecutor who works with the Sexual Assault Kit Initiative Task Force at the Fulton County District Attorney's Office.
At the time he was indicted, Shabazz was servicing a prison sentence in North Carolina for robbery and other related charges. He was expected to be released in September of 2019 before the indictment.