A Kansas Bureau of Investigation forensics scientist testified Thursday that DNA samples found on cuttings from a black knit stocking cap and a pair of white welding gloves — items left at the scene of a 12-year-old sexual assault case in Ottawa — matched a known DNA profile from defendant Ralph E. Corey.

The prosecution team from the Franklin County Attorney’s Office rested its case late Thursday afternoon. The defense was expected to call its first witness at 9 a.m. Friday, with the case likely to go the jury sometime Friday afternoon.

A Kansas Bureau of Investigation forensics scientist testified Thursday that DNA samples found on cuttings from a black knit stocking cap and a pair of white welding gloves — items left at the scene of a 12-year-old sexual assault case in Ottawa — matched a known DNA profile from defendant Ralph E. Corey.

The prosecution team from the Franklin County Attorney’s Office rested its case late Thursday afternoon. The defense was expected to call its first witness at 9 a.m. Friday, with the case likely to go the jury sometime Friday afternoon.

Larry Antle, a scientist in the KBI forensics lab since 1996, testified Thursday that partial DNA profiles were discovered from cuttings of the lining of the left glove and a stocking cap used to cover the victim’s face. And a full profile was found from a clipping of the right glove’s lining.

Ralph Corey, a 53-year-old former truck driver from Arizona, is on trial for a second time in Franklin County District Court in connection with the sexual assault cold case after a mistrial was declared in July after Judge Eric W. Godderz learned one of the jurors had used a smartphone to look up information about the case during deliberations.

Corey is accused of sexually assaulting a 16-year-old Walmart Supercenter cashier on the night of Feb. 19, 2000, as she prepared to leave the employee parking lot on the north side of the building at 2101 S. Princeton St., Ottawa. Corey faces two counts of aggravated sexual assault, one count of aggravated kidnapping, one count of attempted rape and one count of making a criminal threat in connection with the 2000 incident. All five counts are felonies.

Evidence collected by law enforcement included the victim’s clothing, a black knit cap she was forced to wear down over her face like a ski mask, and a pair of white welding gloves that were found in the back seat of the car that did not belong to the victim and were not in the car before the attack, according to testimony at the trial. Detectives also collected an apparent pubic hair from the victim’s clothing that was never tested.

But the stocking cap and gloves did yield DNA profiles, as well as a limited DNA profile from one of the three swabs taken from the victim’s stomach the night of the attack.

When more than 20 leads in the case did not pan out between 2000 and 2002, according to law enforcement officials, the KBI lab entered the full DNA profile left on the right glove by the unknown suspect into the national Combined DNA Index System [CODIS] of solved and unsolved cases.

The case had gone cold until DNA collected at the crime scene was matched with Corey’s DNA in the national Combined DNA Index System [CODIS] of solved and unsolved cases Nov. 8, 2010, as Corey was about to be released from an Arizona penitentiary on counterfeiting charges.

That discovery culminated with Ottawa police detective Rick Geist, who retired in fall 2011 after 30 years with the Ottawa Police Department, taking a trip to Arizona to interview Corey and bring back a sample of his DNA for analysis by KBI scientists.

Corey was arrested June 17, 2011, by Ottawa police officers on a Franklin County warrant and transferred to the Franklin County Adult Detention Center, 305 S. Main St., Ottawa. He remains in jail on $500,000 bond.

Geist positively identified Corey at the defense table Thursday as the man he went to Arizona to interview.

When asked by James T. Ward, Franklin County assistant prosecutor, what the chances were that those three DNA profiles obtained from the gloves and cap came from another Caucasian individual other than Ralph Cory, KBI scientist Antle testified the statistical probabilities were:

• Partial profile on the right glove: 1 in 7 billion.

• Partial profile on the stocking cap: 1 in 12 trillion.

• Full profile on the right glove: 1 in 62 trillion.

John A. Boyd, Corey’s defense attorney, asked Antle if it were possible for more than one person’s DNA to be on the stocking cap, but not the cutting? Boyd pointed out the victim wore the mask for about a half hour during the assault, but her DNA was not discovered on the cutting from the mask.

Antle said, “Yes, it’s possible.”

Boyd asked Antle if DNA, under the right conditions, could remain on objects for years.

“Yes,” Antle replied.

Boyd argued if that were Corey’s DNA on the cap and gloves, all that would prove is that Corey came in contact with those items — the DNA evidence didn’t necessarily place Corey at the scene.

“The gloves could have been lost, given away, stolen,” Boyd said.

Antle agreed. “Yes, that’s a possibility.”

Boyd also asked if the prosecution had ever asked Antle to send the apparent pubic hair found on the victim’s clothing to an FBI lab for analysis to see if it would match Corey’s DNA. The KBI does not have the technical capability to analyze hairs for DNA.

Antle said he was not asked to send the pubic hair for analysis.

Boyd said now the court would never know if that hair contained DNA that could identify the real attacker, because it was not analyzed.

Dana Soderholm, KBI scientist who analyzed the stomach swabs with a special technic that specifically looked for male DNA, said the partial DNA profile obtained from one of the swabs could not rule out Corey as the possible donor.

But Soderholm testified that the probably of another man matching the sample collected from the victim’s stomach was one in nine.

“So if there are 6,000 males in Ottawa, 600 hundred of them could have matched [that sample]?” Boyd asked.

Based on the 1-in-9 probabilty, Soderholm replied: “Yes.”

Boyd took it further.

“With 175 million males in the United States, that would mean around 17 million of them would be a match,” Boyd said.

Soderholm said: “That’s possible.”

Earlier in the day, Stephen A. Hunting, Franklin County attorney, produced then-trucker Corey’s fuel records in an attempt to place him in Ottawa on the night of the crime in February 2000.

With the assistance of Roy Baker, a graphical information system mapper for Franklin County, Hunting showed jurors earlier in the day points along I-35 where Corey purchased fuel the day before the attack Feb. 18 in Waterloo, Iowa, and again Feb. 21 in Hewitt, Texas. He pointed out that Ottawa was located on I-35 in between those two points.

Boyd asked Baker if it were not true that hundreds, if not thousands, of miles of roads were not pictured on the map, which highligted I-35. Baker agreed that was true.

Doug Carder is senior writer for The Herald. Email him at dcarder@ottawaherald.com