COLLIN COUNTY, Texas - In a powerful culmination of decades-long investigative persistence, a Collin County jury has convicted Nicholas Carney, 65, of Ardmore, Oklahoma, for the horrific 1991 kidnapping and aggravated sexual assault of an eight-year-old girl in Plano, Texas. Carney was sentenced to life in prison, ensuring he will spend the remainder of his days behind bars.
The crime occurred on August 15, 1991, when the young victim was abducted by a stranger while walking with a friend to a community pool. Over several terrifying hours, she endured sexual assault before being released approximately 20 miles from her home. Despite the collection of crucial DNA evidence and a composite sketch created with help from the child's friend and Plano Police Detective Larry Wilson, the case went cold as initial efforts by multiple agencies failed to identify a suspect.
Years later, the DNA profile, developed in 2004 by the Southwestern Institute of Forensic Science (SWIFS) in Dallas and entered into the national CODIS database, linked the perpetrator to another unsolved case: the March 25, 1999, kidnapping and sexual assault of a nine-year-old girl in Dallas. In that incident, the child was taken while walking home from school, assaulted for hours, and released far from home. A composite sketch was again created, this time with assistance from ATF Agent Sharon Whittaker.
The breakthrough came in 2023 when Plano Police Detective Aaron Benzick, Dallas Police Detective Elizabeth DeAngelis, and Texas Ranger Jason Shea reopened both investigations. Using advanced forensic investigative genetic genealogy, they identified Carney as a match. Records showed he lived in the Dallas area during both crimes, drove vehicles matching witness descriptions, and his driver's license photos aligned with the composite sketches.
With collaboration from the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, authorities obtained a DNA sample from Carney. Testing conclusively matched his DNA to evidence from both the 1991 Plano assault and the 1999 Dallas case. Carney faced multiple counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child.
Further investigation uncovered Carney's prior criminal history: In 1980, while working as an ice-cream truck driver in Tulsa, Oklahoma, he was convicted of exposing himself to a six-year-old child and attempting to lure the child into his vehicle.
After hearing the evidence, the jury delivered a guilty verdict and imposed a life sentence. They also assessed a symbolic $34 fine, which is one dollar for each year the crime remained unsolved. Judge Richard Davis presided over the trial.
Collin County Criminal District Attorney Greg Willis praised the outcome, stating: “My office is here to protect children and remove dangerous predators from our communities. We will pursue these offenders as long as it takes so families can live in peace and children can grow up safe.”
The prosecution team included Assistant Criminal District Attorneys Ashleigh Woodall and Ann Mathew, supported by District Attorney Investigator Laurie Gibbs and Victim Assistance Coordinator Valerie Miller.
This conviction highlights the enduring power of modern forensic techniques like genetic genealogy in solving cold cases and delivering long-delayed justice to victims who suffered in silence for over three decades.
