A trial is underway in Rock County court for a 54-year-old man accused of sexually assaulting an elderly Janesville woman almost 18 years ago. Assistant District Attorney Rich Sullivan indicated in his opening statement to the jury Monday, the case against Kelly L. Baxter relies heavily on DNA analysis of bloodstains on a bed sheet. The woman was 78 at the time of the April 1, 2000, incident. She died in 2011. Baxter was not charged until February of last year after the state Crime Lab matched DNA. A criminal complaint says Baxter had been required to give the sample in 2016 after he was convicted of misdemeanor sexual assault that occurred in 2014.
