Meriwether County Arrest for 1979 Rape

Arrest Made in 1979 Meriwether County Rape

GREENVILLE – The Meriwether County Sheriff’s Office and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation have arrested a MeriwetherCounty man for the 1979 rape of a 74-year-old Manchester woman.  Another MeriwetherCounty man, John Jerome White, had been convicted of this crime.

Recent DNA tests at the GBI crime lab, conducted as a result of a post-conviction court order obtained at the request of the Innocence Project, showed that White’s DNA profile did not match the DNA evidence from the crime scene.  The DNA profile from this evidence was searched in the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) and a match was made to James Edward Parham, 54, of 106 West Trigville in Manchester. Parham is on the Sex Offender Registry for a 1985 rape conviction.

Warrants were taken late today by Meriwether County Sheriff Steve Whitlock charging Parham with Rape, Aggravated Assault, Burglary and Robbery.   Parham is being held at the Meriwether County Jail.

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