Attorney General Luther Strange announced another significant cold case victory, with the conviction today of a man for crimes involved in the home invasion and violent sexual attack of a seven year-old Anniston girl around 3 a.m. on October 22, 1994.  Kenneth Jackson, 47, of Springville, this morning pleaded guilty to first-degree burglary with injury and was subsequently sentenced to life imprisonment.

Jackson is already serving a term of life imprisonment for crimes involving an eight-year old girl in Birmingham in 1994, for which he was convicted of first-degree rape, second-degree kidnapping and first-degree burglary. In addition, Jackson had previously been convicted for the first-degree rape of a 24-year-old woman in Huntsville in 1995, and for aggravated robbery and aggravated rape of an 18-year-old woman in Nashville in 1995. 

The conviction announced today resulted from a project within the Attorney General’s Office, in partnership with the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences, to investigate violent sexual crimes that previously had been closed due to lack of investigative leads. This program is funded by a grant from the U.S Department of Justice.   The project also resulted in a conviction announced last week regarding a home invasion and violent sex crimes committed in Gadsden in 1996.

The Attorney General’s Office presented information in June of 2010 to a Calhoun County grand jury, including DNA evidence that identified Jackson as the man who committed the crimes against the seven-year-old Anniston girl in 1994, which resulted in his indictment.    

“I am pleased that this case provides another important example of the Attorney General’s Office working together with other law enforcement agencies to persevere in achieving justice for victims,” said Attorney General Strange. He praised the cooperative efforts of the Attorney General’s Violent Crimes Division, the Attorney General’s Investigations Division-Cold Case Unit, the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences, and the Anniston Police Department. Assistance was provided also by the police departments of Birmingham, Huntsville, Decatur and Nashville; and by the Jefferson County District Attorney’s Office.  Attorney General Luther Strange commended Assistant Attorney General Will Dill, who prosecuted Jackson for the 1994 crime. He noted in particular the diligence and foresight of the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences and its biological unit under supervisory scientist Angelo Della Manna.