Coral Springs man accused of kidnapping, raping woman 11 years ago now charged
Over a decade after two unknown men abducted and raped a 21-year-old woman, one of them has now been identified and charged.
Melvin Kendrick, 59, was arrested at his Coral Springs home on Feb. 19 after a DNA database search identified him as one of the individuals involved in the kidnapping and assault, the Broward Sheriff’s Office said in a Feb. 25 news release.
On the night of Saturday, July 10, 2015, the victim was walking to an apartment complex’s parking lot in Tamarac when she was approached by a man she did not know, investigators wrote in a probable cause affidavit.
The stranger, later identified as Kendrick, pushed her into a corner and said if she made any noise or didn’t do what she was told, he would kill her, deputies wrote in the report. He forced her into a vehicle occupied already by a second man, who has yet to be identified, investigators said.
“Once the men got her into the car, they threw her phone out the window and drove to a secluded area of the parking lot where they sexually battered her,” BSO deputies wrote in the news release.
The victim later escaped by jumping out of the moving vehicle and running to a nearby restaurant for help, according to investigators.
Evidence collected after the crime showed that two men had left DNA on the victim, but neither one returned a match in state databases, records state. Without leads, the case quickly went cold.
Then, when the case was reassigned in 2024 and the DNA was tested again, a partial match appeared, belonging to Kendrick’s son, according to deputies. Detectives said they deduced that Kendrick was the most viable match and obtained a DNA warrant in December 2025. According to his arrest affidavit, a positive match was made on Feb. 5.
Kendrick has faced prior felony charges including battery and burglary.
He now faces two felonies of sexual battery and false imprisonment. The other perpetrator, described as a younger man, remains unidentified.
This story was originally published February 25, 2026 at 3:45 PM.
