COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.—An escapee from a Louisiana prison is accused of abducting and sexually assaulting a 12-year-old Colorado Springs girl as she walked to a bus stop.
KMGH-TV reports ( ) Colorado Springs police Thursday announced that DNA collected in the investigation matched that of 22-year-old Leonard Wayne Palmer. Palmer and fellow inmate Charles Magurn escaped from the West Carroll Detention Center in Epps, La., on Oct. 14. Authorities captured Magurn on Oct. 24 with Palmer captured the next day, hours after the girl reported being sexually assaulted.
Police say Palmer quickly became a person of interest after an alert patrolman recognized Palmer from the description provided by the girl. Palmer faces charges of kidnapping and sexual assault on a child.
Palmer had been serving time for burglary, forgery and escape.
