Cold case charges

A cold case more than 20 years in the making led to sexual assault charges Tuesday against an Ignace man.

Between 1985 and 1987 a disguised man, sometimes armed, allegedly broke into homes and sexually assaulted women in Conmee, Hagee and Scoble townships.

On Tuesday the OPP charged Donald Milani, 62, in connection with five sexual assault cases in townships around Thunder Bay. Milani was charged in relation to the cases in 1987, but those charges were dismissed at a preliminary hearing in 1989.

OPP DET. Insp. John Horne and a team of investigators reopened the case three years ago. Horne said it was a combination of old-fashioned police work and new technology that led to the charges being laid again.

"There was no new information that we received. Basically it was a review of the case that they already had. They had done an extensive investigation back in 1987 that resulted in the individual being charged," Horne said. "With the new technology that we have now compared to what they had back in 1985 to '87 it was sufficient for us to now proceed and lay those charges."

While the arrest has been rewarding for the OPP, Horne said after a lead investigator spoke with victims Tuesday he is satisfied that they are "very relieved and happy" that an arrest has been made.

"The main people that we feel are the victims themselves. They’ve gone through basically 20 years without the cases being resolved and this hopefully will give them some closure," he said.

Horne said while he understands the public may feel a little frustrated with the lengthy timeline of some cases, every one is different. As long as evidence has been preserved, new technology continues to be developed that help police lay charges years after a crime has been committed.

"I’ve had cases that we’ve solved within a day and other cases have taken nine years, 10 years, 15 years," he said.

Police charged Milani with 19 offences: Those charges include four counts of break and enter, five counts of sexual assault, four counts of wearing a disguise while committing an indictable offence, four counts of forcible confinement and two counts of robbery.

He was released Tuesday and will appear in Superior Court in Thunder Bay on Aug. 30.