More than two decades after the crime took place, a Missouri man was sentenced Wednesday to 32 years in prison for breaking into a Denver home and sexually assaulting the woman inside.
The once-cold-case sexual assault happened in the 3700 block of North Stuart Street on March 30, 2004. DNA evidence was collected at the time, but a suspect was not identified until 2022.
Jason Groshart, a 52-year-old resident of Sedalia, Missouri, took a deal and pleaded guilty in July to second-degree kidnapping and attempted sexual assault, according to Denver court records. The deal dropped additional charges of burglary and sexual assault from his case.
The Missouri man was 31 years old when he broke into the victim’s home in 2004, dressed in all black and wearing a mask and gloves, according to the .
When Groshart entered the victim’s bedroom, he threatened her with a handgun, handcuffed her arms behind her back, placed a mask over her head and sexually assaulted her, the DA’s office said.
“It’s hard to imagine the terror the victim in this case felt during and after this horrific crime,” Denver District Attorney John Walsh said in a .
The case went cold until 2022, when the Denver Police Department reopened the investigation and used DNA evidence and genetic genealogy to identify Groshart as a suspect.
